The United Illuminating Company
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electric utility |
| Founded | 1899 |
| Headquarters | Orange , United States |
Area served | 17 municipalities in greater New Haven and Bridgeport regions, Connecticut |
| Products | Electricity procurement, transmission, distribution, and retail |
| Owner | Avangrid |
| Website | www |
The United Illuminating Company (UI) is an electric distribution firm operating regionally from its headquarters in Orange, Connecticut. Established in 1899, UI delivers electricity to approximately 325,000 customers spanning residential, commercial, and industrial sectors throughout 17 municipalities in the greater New Haven and Bridgeport regions. As a subsidiary of Avangrid, the company specializes in the procurement, transmission, distribution, and retail of electrical power.
History
The roots of UI trace back to 1881 with the formation of the New Haven Electric Lighting Company, which initially provided electric lighting services in New Haven. In 1883, it was reorganized as the New Haven Electric Company and subsequently expanded under the guidance of James English by acquiring the Bridgeport Electric Light Company in 1899. Following this acquisition, the enterprise adopted the name The United Illuminating Company. UI’s growth paralleled Connecticut’s industrial development, broadening its franchise beyond New Haven and Bridgeport to neighboring towns. For many years, UI maintained exclusive control over electric generation, transmission, and distribution assets within its service territory.
After Connecticut enacted deregulation laws in 1998, UI divested its generation facilities in 2000, including plants located at New Haven and Bridgeport harbors, and withdrew from involvement with projects such as the Connecticut Yankee Nuclear Power Plant and Millstone Nuclear Power Plant. That same year marked UI’s transition into a subsidiary of UIL Holdings Corporation, a New Haven-based holding entity overseeing both regulated utilities and unregulated businesses.
Currently, UI continues to own and manage the transmission and distribution systems serving its 17-town service area.
Major projects
United Illuminating has collaborated with Eversource Energy (previously Northeast Utilities) on significant efforts to improve the reliability of southwestern Connecticut’s electrical grid. Eversource developed the $350 million 345-kilovolt Bethel-Norwalk transmission line, while both companies jointly executed the construction of the 69-mile (112 km), 345-kilovolt Middletown-Norwalk transmission line at a total investment of $900 million, which was energized in 2009.