Connecticut regulators agreed to allow Eversource to recover $861 million in deferred storms costs on Wednesday, cutting more than $500 million from the request filed by the company last year. Those storms, which each cost the company more than $4 million, are treated differently from smaller storms that are included in normal rates. The case was separate from Eversource’s request earlier this month to increase its base distribution rates by around 11% starting in 2027. Critics of Eversource’s request praised PURA’s decision to reject Eversource’s request for retrospective interests payments, which they said would have set a bad precedent for future cases. “Storm costs recovery needs a fresh approach to ensure that this situation does not happen again,” Smith said.