Lawmaker asks Lamont to stop utility regulator’s ‘interference’
House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora claims that the chairwoman of the state’s utility regulators is abusing her power in an unprecedented attempt to “interfere” with the executive and legislative branches of government over recent electric rate filings.
In a letter to Gov. Ned Lamont, Candelora, RNorth Branford, said he is concerned that Marissa Gillett, who heads the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, has asked Eversource and the United Illuminating Co. to provide “all briefing or other summary information” they might have given to Lamont’s office, members of the General Assembly, the Office of Consumer Counsel and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, on pending rate requests.
“Information shared between the utilities, the governor’s office, and the legislature has no relevance to PURA’s Revenue Adjustment Mechanism (RAM) and to my knowledge, this type of information has never before been requested of any RAM filings in the past,” Candelora wrote to Lamont. “This request is, in my view, an abuse of power — and to the extent that PURA is requesting such information from legislators, it’s a violation of the separation of powers.” Candelora and his minority caucus say Gillett’s continued leadership of the authority “will only lead to higher electric bills for our customers.”
He also charged that Gillett’s request “will lead to a chilling effect for utility companies to have dialogue to set policies that lower cost for our consumers. It is only with open and transparent dialogue that we can achieve that goal, and I believe PURA’s latest request seeks to interfere with that process.”
Candelora said that since Gillett’s nomination nearly five years ago, she has had an “adversarial” relationship with utilities.
Taren O’Connor, PURA’s director of legislation, regulations and communications, said in a Friday afternoon statement that the request was part of the authority’s due-diligence.
“The discovery question referenced in the letter, issued by PURA staff, is a routine question used to develop the record to understand all solutions being offered and discussed so that PURA can make an informed decision,” O’Connor said. “Sometimes really great and innovative ideas are discussed in other venues, but legally speaking, the ideas must make it into the evidentiary record to be relied on when reaching a decision.
In recent years, state lawmakers have set higher standards for utility performance, including prohibitions on the inclusion of executive salaries and lobbying costs in requests for rate hikes, as well as possible credits for customers who lose power for prolonged periods.
Last month, Republicans in the General Assembly declared they wanted $190 million in the state’s federal pandemic relief fund to go to the utilities to make up for revenue losses.
Candelora, in his letter to Lamont, also asked the governor to fill a pair of vacancies on the PURA board.
Lamont’s office declined to comment on Candelora’s letter, but Julia Bergman, spokeswoman for the governor, said Friday that he does not have any plans to change the membership of the authority.
“He believes the shift to performance-based regulation ensures ratepayers are getting a good return on their investment and reduces uncertainty for utility companies,” Bergman said in a statement. “He has been clear that the state, the legislature, regulators, and the utilities all need to be at the table working together to ensure Connecticut has a clean, reliable, and affordable energy grid.”
Eversource has requested a rate hike that would average about $38 a month for residential customers, while UI is looking for an increase of about $26 a month.