Gov. Ned Lamont fired back against the state’s largest utilities on Friday, publicly accusing them of waging a campaign to oust his appointed chairwoman of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, Marissa Gillett.
“There’s a full-court press to get her out of there, I mean the lobbyists, the publicists, the lawyers,” Lamont told reporters following an unrelated event at the University of Connecticut in Storrs.
“Thank God all those costs are not in the rate base or your electric prices would really be through the roof,” he added, referring to legislation passed two years ago that prohibited utilities from recovering certain costs through electric rates paid by customers.
The governor’s comments came a day after two of the state’s largest utilities — Eversource and United Illuminating — filed a lawsuit against PURA, accusing Gillett of overstepping her authority and making unilateral decisions in hundreds of cases involving the companies’ businesses.
As a result of those actions, the utilities claim they were left “with no choice” but to seek a judicial order for PURA to revise its practices and stop issuing rulings without a recorded vote of all three commissioners.
Sarah Wall Fliotsos, a spokeswoman for UI’s parent company, Avangrid, responded to the governor’s comments on Friday in a statement that said the utility began objecting last August to the issues later raised in the lawsuit, only to have their concerns dismissed.
“PURA’s actions and decisions on this issue serve nothing other than the Chairman’s agenda that has created the worst regulatory environment in the U.S., certainly not the interests of customers or the companies tasked with providing them safe, reliable energy,” Fliotsos said.
“That is why we and Eversource took our case to state court yesterday. We look forward to its resolution so we can focus entirely on investing in the energy system for the benefit of the customers we serve, and we urge Governor Lamont to appoint people to PURA who comply with the law, not who violate it.”
Eversource spokeswoman Jamie Ratliff said in a statement Friday that the company has sought to share data and information with the public, elected leaders and Lamont’s administration regarding its investments in Connecticut, along with its decarbonization efforts and issues such as the supply of energy, which she called the “driving force of high customer bills.”
“We will continue to advocate for a constructive platform that provides certainty and predictability to customers to solve these difficult issues, which can only be achieved through listening and collaboration,” Ratliff said.
Despite the tensions over her leadership, Lamont quietly re-nominated Gillett to another four-year term as commissioner on Jan. 10 in a communication submitted to lawmakers.
Her nomination is set to go before the Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee in February, and Lamont expressed confidence on Friday that she will be confirmed by lawmakers. (Separately, Gillett’s two-year term as chair of PURA is scheduled to expire in July).
Previously, the governor had acknowleged the long-running tensions between Gillett and the utilities, while stopping short of accussing them of trying to block her reappointment. The utilities have also made little secret about their frustrations with Gillett and PURA, who they say have created a hostile regulatory market that makes it more difficult for the companies to access the capital needed to improve the electric distribution grid and other types of infrastructure.
Gillett, meanwhile, has cast herself as a disruptor working on behalf of customers who pay some of the highest utility prices in the counrty, particularly for electricity.
“They are businesses, but they’re monopolies,” she said about the utilities in a podcast interview last year. “So when I see headlines that say that PURA’s actions have been bad for business in the state, I really take offense to that, because businesses in the state are the folks paying these rates.”
On Friday, Lamont said that he’d prefer both Gillett and the utilities keep their disagreements out of the press in an effort to build a more collaborative environment.
“Stop litigating this in the press,” Lamont said. “Stop hiring law firms to bring lawsuits. You know, come into my office and we’ll sit down.”
The lawsuit also sparked a strong defense of PURA from Attorney General William Tong, a Democrat who has clashed with the utilities in the past over rate increases, environmental remediation and their much-criticized response to Tropical Storm Isaias.
“This is an outrageous attempt by Eversource to bully its regulator and we will vigorously defend the State against these baseless claims,” Tong said in a statement Thursday.
Next week, state lawmakers will hold a hearing on legislation, Senate Bill 1193, that would reduce the size of PURA from five commissioners to its current roster of three — with two vacancies — while also allowing the chair to assign matters to one or more commissioners.
Lamont claimed that Eversource and UI are trying to remove PURA Chair Marissa Gillett because of her tough stance on holding the utilities accountable for their actions, particularly in the wake of the controversial rate hikes and power outages last year.
The governor went on to say that he fully supports Gillett and her efforts to protect consumers and ensure fair and transparent utility practices in the state. He also warned the utilities that any attempts to undermine PURA’s independence and authority would not be tolerated.
Eversource and UI have denied the allegations, stating that they respect the role of PURA and are committed to working collaboratively with the regulatory authority to address the needs of Connecticut residents.
The situation is ongoing, and it remains to be seen how it will unfold in the coming days. Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.
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