Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • October 31, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com TOP STORY Amid uncertainty, state cans natural-gas expansion Hamstrung by court and regulatory rulings in key New England states, the state's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said it's cancel- ing an RFP meant to increase natura-gas capacity in the state. The developers of seven projects, including a $3 billion expansion of the Algonquin pipeline called Access Northeast, had submitted bids in late June, vying to provide as much as an extra 300 million cubic feet per day of capacity for the region's gas-fired power plants. But the mechanism by which developers and utilities wanted to finance the projects — building the cost of expanding gas capacity into electricity rates — was controversial and banned by courts and regulators in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. DEEP said those states' decisions "have materially reduced the ability for the costs of projects to be shared among a substantial portion of the region's ratepayers." "DEEP has consistently asserted that the problem of inadequate gas in- frastructure is greater than one state can solve alone," the agency said in a statement. "Regional investment is necessary to ensure that no one state disproportionately bears the costs of addressing what is a problem endemic to our regional electric system. As a result, DEEP moved to cancel this RFP." ENERGY & UTILITIES Beacon Falls fuel-cell park loses major potential customer A proposal to build the world's largest fuel-cell park in Beacon Falls was dealt a major blow last week when it lost a large potential customer — utilities in Connecticut and two neighboring states. Danbury's FuelCell Energy disclosed in a U.S. Securities & Exchange Com- mission filing last week that the 63.3-megawatt project's developer — a sub- sidiary of O&G Industries — had informed FuelCell that its bid into a major clean-energy RFP had not been selected by a consortium of officials in Con- necticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The developer had tapped FuelCell to manufacture, operate and service the fuel cells for the park. Meantime, the overseers of that RFP process last week disclosed which bids had been selected. Of the 460 megawatts worth of projects, five would be lo- cated in Connecticut, including solar farms in Simsbury, Enfield, Brooklyn, New Milford and Canterbury. Being selected doesn't guarantee a project developer will ultimately sign a contract to sell its power to a utility company, as negotia- tions and regulatory approval of 20-year contracts are still needed. HEALTH CARE CT employee health benefit costs exceed national average Total health benefit costs per employee increased 2.2 percent in Connecticut this year, about on par with the nation, to an average of $13,910 per worker, according to results of Mercer's annual health benefits survey. But the cost was about $2,000 more than the national average. The cost includes both employer and employee contributions for medical, dental and other health coverage for all covered employees and dependents, Mercer said. Nationally, total cost per employee rose an average of 2.4 percent, the small- est increase since 2013 and, before that, 1997, as more employees moved into lower-cost medical plans, the global consultant said. The total cost averaged $11,920 per employee. Connecticut employers said that if they made no plan-design changes, costs would rise 5.9 percent next year, but they expect to hold their increase to 3.8 percent, Mercer said. ConnectiCare, St. Francis extend bundled- payment pact for hip, knee surgeries ConnectiCare has extended its agreement with the Connecticut Joint Re- placement Institute (CJRI) at St. Francis to offer a program for total hip and knee replacement surgery that features one bundled price for all of a patient's hospital-related and post-acute services, rather than a separate price for each episode of care. In the last three years, more than 300 ConnectiCare members have partici- pated in the Step Ahead Plan, which coordinates the treatment provided by the hospital, surgeon and anesthesiologist. The Step Ahead Plan at CJRI is a collaborative effort between St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, The Connecticut Joint Replacement Surgeons LLC and Woodland Anesthesia Associates PC. CJRI inked its first contract for the plan with ConnectiCare in 2012. Since then, hospital stays for plan patients have decreased from 3.7 days to fewer than two days, and implant and consumable costs have declined, Connecti- Care said, adding that patient satisfaction scores have consistently exceeded the 95th percentile. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & CONSTRUCTION Cities, others land initial 'innovation places' grants The state's CTNext program has awarded cities and other entities grants rang- ing from $24,000 to $50,000 to establish "innovation places," authorities say. Besides Hartford, the cities include Bridgeport, Danbury, Meriden, Middle- town, New Britain, New Haven, Norwalk, Stamford and Waterbury. Also included are the Thames River and Northeast Connecticut regions. North- east Connecticut includes Tolland, Killingly, Putnam, Mansfield, Windham, Storrs, and Willimantic. Thames River includes New London and Groton. Most of the cities and regions got $50,000 grants each. Those getting less include: Danbury, $24,000; Meriden and Middletown, $25,000 each; Stamford, $35,000; and New Britain, $40,000, Connecticut Innovations said. The cities and regions will use the funding to develop a strategic planning process to identify local conditions and then attempt to obtain implementation grants to build a master plan that identifies the resources and assets in each community (like a hospital, university, research firm, or manufacturer) to create business opportunities for startups. State lawmakers approved legislation earlier this year to create and fund innovation places throughout Connecticut. TECHNOLOGY CT climbs in national high-tech sector rankings Connecticut has moved up from ninth to sixth in the rankings for the Milken Institute's State Technology and Science Index 2016 — its highest ranking in the history of the index. Massachusetts held onto first place, followed by Colorado, previously ranked fourth, and Maryland, previously ranked second. The states of California, Washington, Minnesota, Utah, Virginia and Delaware round out the top 10, said the institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank. The index tracks and evaluates each state's tech and science capabilities and its success at converting assets into companies and high-paying jobs. Connecti- cut's rise is based on performance in related indices. The state's technology concentration and dynamism index ranking jumped from 21st to 10th. Connecticut also moved up from 10th to eighth in the research and development inputs index; from 14th to 11th in the risk capital and entrepreneurial infrastruc- ture index; stayed steady at third place in the human capital investment index; and climbed from 16th to 10th in the technology and science workforce index. BANKING & FINANCE Windsor financial services firm acquires Salentica Windsor-based SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc. is acquiring New York-based Sal- entica as it bolsters its financial services software capabilities, adding 30 employees. The purchase price was not disclosed. Founded in 1997, Salentica provides client relationship management (CRM) and document management products for wealth managers on both Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Salesforce CRM plat- forms, according to its website. The New York City firm has more than 5,000 users. BY THE NUMBERS $19,987 The state of Connecticut's debt per capita, which is the third highest in the country, according to Hartford- based investment manager Conning. 5 The number of proposed clean- energy projects that would be built in Connecticut under a three-state RFP, which announced selections last week. $1.48B United Technologies' third-quarter profits, up nearly 9 percent from the same quarter in 2015. 6th Connecticut's ranking — it's highest to date — in a biannual high-tech index published by the Milken Institute. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ Beacon Falls fuel-cell park loses major potential customer ■ CT climbs in national high-tech sector rankings ■ Amid uncertainty, DEEP cans gas RFP ■ UTC posts higher 3Q profits; boosts outlook ■ Connecticut election ballots available online STAY CONNECTED For breaking and daily Greater Hartford business news go to www.HartfordBusiness.com. HBJ on Twitter: @HartfordBiz HBJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HartfordBiz HBJ on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ the-Hartford-Business-Journal Daily e-newsletters: HBJ Today, CT Morning Blend www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe Weekly e-newsletters: CT Green Guide Weekly, CT Health Care Weekly www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe WEEK IN REVIEW An Eversource crew works on a natural gas pipeline expansion. DEEP's Hartford headquarters on Elm Street. P H O T O | H B J F I L E P H O T O | H B J F I L E

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