PURA chair
FAIRFIELD – Gov. Ned Lamont continued to stand by embattled PURA Chair Marissa Gillett Tuesday, Feb. 18 as her reappointment comes up before the General Assembly’s Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee tomorrow.
In his annual address to Fairfield County chambers of commerce at Fairfield University’s Leo D. Mahoney Arena the governor sang Gillett’s praises and urged the legislature to support her reappointment to the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.
“For the first time ever, we have an energy regulator – Marissa Gillett – who comes out of the energy regulatory business,” Lamont said. “She knows what she is talking about. She comes out of Maryland. I really like having someone on PURA who really knows her way around this. We have someone from UI on the board as well.”
When pushed members of the press for further comment on Gillett’s reappointment after his address, the governor said he fully supports her.
“She’s standing up for the consumer. She knows what she’s doing. She comes out of regulation,” he said. “I know the utilities don’t like her because she holds them accountable. I know she is coming up before the legislature. I know the utilities have a lot of influence.
They ought to stand up for her. You can fuss around about whether you need three or five commissioners on PURA. That won’t make a dime’s worth a difference. I need more (power) generation.”
The Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee will hold a public hearing on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 11 a.m. in Room 1A at the state Legislative Office Building. (The hearing is available on YouTube Live.)
Ironically on the day Lamont gave his speech with members of Avangrid – parent company of United Illuminating – in the audience, the utility sent out a press release announcing that the public benefits charge (PBC) would increase by $30.1 million in 2025 for UI customers starting in May. The company announced a 0.10 percent overall bill increase, equating to about 26 cents per month for the average residential customer using 700 kilowatt-hours primarily due to the PBC.
“It’s important for our customers to know that, as a distribution-only company, we do not control or profit from the Public Benefits Charge, which funds sustainability and hardship programs that have been passed by state policymakers,” said Frank Reynolds, president and CEO of UI.
According to the statement, the PBC increase is primarily driven by an $18.1 million increase in the System Benefit Charge (SBC), which pays for energy assistance costs, energy efficiency programs, and other state-mandated programs.
As part of its battle against PURA, both top state utilities Eversource and Avangrid filed a lawsuit against the PURA commissioners and the state on Jan. 30.
The lawsuit in State of Connecticut Superior Court seeks relief “to bring an end to a series of unlawful practices and procedures” deployed by PURA. The lawsuit alleges that Chair Gillett ruled unilaterally on hundreds of rate decisions since 2020, leaving PURA’s other commissioners out of rulings that affected the utilities and several subsidiaries.
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers have demanded a subpoena for records after revelations of Gillett’s conversations and coordination with the Legislature’s Energy and Tech Committee chairs.
“Such revelations raise serious questions about Ms. Gillett’s neutrality as chair of the PURA and we are concerned about the extent to which she was involved in policymaking and related public relations efforts,” said House Republican leader Vincent Candelora and Senate Republican leader Stephen Harding.
Avangrid and Eversource cite a state law mandating any matter brought before the authority be presented to a panel of three or more utility commissioners. At the moment there are four members. Each of them is named in the suit. In addition to Gillett, they include David Arconti, Michael Caron, and John Betkoski, who has since retired. The governor who appointed Gillett to her post in 2019, has opted to keep PURA at three members.
One group supporting Gillett’s reappointment to chair is the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters. On Tuesday the group sent out an alert asking people to support Gillett.
“CT’s powerful electric utilities are escalating their campaign of intimidation, misinformation, and corporate greed, all in an attempt to weaken the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) and maintain their unchecked power over ratepayers,” the league stated in the alert.
“They have used every trick at their disposal to discredit PURA: filing lawsuits, launching misleading attacks, and pouring money into lobbying efforts designed to sow fear and confusion among ratepayers. Despite these efforts, Chair Marissa Gillett has remained a steadfast advocate for fair oversight, earning national recognition for her work in holding utilities accountable and fighting for consumers.”
Prior to her appointment to head PURA, Gillett was the vice president of external relations for the Energy Storage Association. In that role, Gillett served on the association’s executive team, contributing to the organization’s overall strategic vision and direction.
From 2011 to 2018, Gillett worked at the Maryland Public Service Commission, an independent agency within the Maryland state government that regulates public utilities, where she served as the senior advisor to the chairman.
