Northeast Utilities appoints new CL&P president

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Northeast Utilities says it has appointed a veteran utility executive as the new president of Connecticut Light & Power.

The appointment of William P. Herdegen III was announced Monday, nine months after his predecessor resigned in the wake of back-to-back storms that cut power to hundreds of thousands of customers.

He has worked in the industry for 35 years, most recently as vice president of transmission and distribution operations at Kansas City Power & Light.

Herdegen began his career in Chicago, working for more than 20 years with Unicom, which is now Exelon.

He succeeds Jeffrey Butler, who resigned in November. Butler and others at CL&P were criticized by customers, state officials and members of Connecticut's congressional delegation for perceived delays in restoring power after Tropical Storm Irene and a freak October snow storm.