Plagiarism allegations tied to utility audits in New York have driven a Connecticut agency to take steps to see if similar problems cropped up in its own state.
The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, or PURA, asked a consulting firm that has audited natural gas utilities in the state to review work by the subcontractor that was recently fired in New York during a study of National Grid USA operations.
The Connecticut regulator made the request to River Consulting Group Inc., a firm that audited the management and operations of Connecticut Natural Gas Corp. and Southern Connecticut Gas Co. between 2016 and 2017. River Consulting subcontracted part of the work to Saleeby Consulting Group, which was later retained by New York regulators to do similar audits of three National Grid electric power and gas utilities.
The New York Department of Public Service on Oct. 2 terminated its contract with the South Orange, N.J., company led by Raymond Saleeby. The state alleged that the firm's draft report showed "a pervasive lack of any independent analysis of the practices of National Grid USA."
The Connecticut PURA "is aware of the action taken by the New York Department of Public Service regarding Saleeby Consulting Group," Scott Muska, director of utility regulation at the Connecticut agency, said in an email.
"A review of the authority's records do not indicate any direct retention of Mr. Saleeby or Saleeby Consulting Group; however, Saleeby Consulting Group appears to have performed consulting work on behalf of the PURA-retained consultant (River Consulting Group) for the management audits of [Southern Connecticut Gas] and [Connecticut Natural Gas]," Muska said. "We have contacted River Consulting Group and requested an accounting and rigorous review of any matters in which Saleeby Consulting Group was sub-contracted for in relation to work performed for PURA."
Consulting groups worked together
River Consulting Group, which has Robert Grant listed as principal, president and managing partner in public documents, did not respond to inquiries about its relationship with Saleeby Consulting Group. But records show the two firms have a history of working together.
In addition to the audits for the Connecticut PURA, the firms pitched unsuccessfully to conduct reviews of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. in May 2016 and Time Warner Information Services New York LLC in March 2018.
The firms initially submitted a joint proposal to the New York Department of Public Service for the National Grid audit July 6, 2018. They referred to themselves as a "partnership" that had recently completed simultaneous audits for the Connecticut utility regulator. They also said they had been selected by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities as "one of five preferred consulting firms to bid on their utility management audits."
However, River Consulting appears to have dropped out of the bidding prior to the date when the New York utilities regulator awarded the work to Saleeby Consulting Group. A news release and order directing the National Grid utilities to enter into a contract with Saleeby Consulting Group, both issued by the New York agency Sept. 12, 2018, do not mention River Consulting.
Management and operations audits often pave the way for public utility commissions to make recommendations to utilities to improve their service and can influence rate cases. The Connecticut regulator submitted the River Consulting and Saleeby Consulting Group audit as evidence when Connecticut Natural Gas applied to increase its rates and charges in June 2018.
Questions swirl over National Grid audit
The termination of Saleeby Consulting Group's contract in New York has left the National Grid audit in question. A spokesperson for the New York Department of Public Service said staff is evaluating options for completing a new report. The agency initially authorized Saleeby Consulting Group to charge National Grid up to $2 million for the audit. The report was supposed to assess the utilities' operational efficiency and construction program planning.
"Our audit will closely examine the utilities' readiness to deliver service for New Yorkers, respond to the Reforming the Energy Vision initiative, address the effectiveness of gas safety processes and procedures, and review how these companies plan for and manage information systems projects," New York Public Service Commission Chair John Rhodes said in the Sept. 12, 2018, news release.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities confirmed that Saleeby Consulting Group is on its list of approved contractors, but the board noted that the firm has never received a contract with the state.
"If they were to bid on any future contracts, we would consider any enforcement actions from other states in the award process," board spokesperson Peter Peretzman said in an email.
