The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
‘The longer you serve there, the more you hobnob’
Proposal calls for term limits for Conn. utility regulators
The co-chairman of the Connecticut legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee has introduced a proposal that would set term limits for commissioners of the state’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.
State Sen. Norman Needleman, D-Deep River, wants to limit the amount of time a PURA commissioner can serve to a pair of four year terms. There are currently no limits to the number of terms that a commissioner can serve on the regulatory agency.
Two of the three PURA commissioners have served for a decade or more. PURA’s vice chairman, John “Jack” Betkoski III has served for 26 years and Michael Caron is now in his 10th year as a commissioner. PURA’s chairwoman, Marissa Gillett, is now in her fourth year on the regulatory agency.
Needleman said his reason for proposing PURA term limits is because “the longer you serve there, the more you hobnob with the people you regulate.”
“I think that having terms limits is a wise move,” Needleman said. He did not specifically critique the performance of the existing group of commissioners in a recent interview.
PURA commissioners are appointed by Connecticut’s governor and serve at the pleasure of whomever is in office. But as Betkoski’s long tenure on the regulatory agency illustrates, some commissioners have served under both Republican and Democratic governors.
Gillett is currently serving a five-year term, which will end in March 2024, according to Taren O’Connor, a PURA spokeswoman. Betkoski’s most recent reappointment was in May 2021, and his term is set to expire March 1.
Caron’s term expired on June 30, 2021 and he is currently awaiting reappointment, O’Connor said.
As a rule, PURA commissioners don’t comment on any proposed legislation, she said.
Although his bill only deals with term limits, Needleman said he is open to language being added that would also put other types of limits on how PURA commissioners are selected and what they do after their service with the regulatory agency is done.
“You want someone with a certain level of relevant experience for commissioners,” Needleman said. “At the same time, if they think the governor is not going to nominate them to another term, it may impact the decision they make with respect to certain companies that may be potential employers when they leave PURA. It’s a fine balance that needs to be struck.
The current state statute governing who can serve as a PURA commissioner calls for someone who has “education or training and three or more years of experience in one or more of the following fields: Economics, engineering, law, accounting, finance, utility regulation, public or government administration, consumer advocacy, business management, and environmental management.”
The statute also prevents any individual who serves as a PURA commissioner from accepting employment with any utility regulated by the agency for a period of one year after their service ends.
Joel Gordes, a West Hartford-based energy consultant, said when Needleman’s bill is being reviewed, lawmakers need to consider what a complicated job being a commissioner is.
“It probably takes at least one full term for somebody who is new to PURA to understand what they are supposed to do and how the agency operates,” Gordes said. “You don’t want to be breaking in a new commissioner on a regular basis.”
Needleman’s bill is one of more than 90 currently being consider to be brought for the Energy and Technology Committee for a hearing. Not all of those bills will make it to a hearing and those that do may not advance out of committee.
“I think it’s the largest number of bills that we have ever had to consider,” Needleman said.
The number of bills being proposed for consideration by the committee is largely a function of the dramatic price in electric rates that went into effect Jan. 1. Needleman said lawmakers need to add safeguards related to the procurement and pricing of electricity used by standard offer customers.
Although state law has allowed electric utility customers to purchase their electricity from third-party providers since 2000, the vast majority of customers of The United Illuminating Co. and Eversource Energy use the standard service offer. Under the standard service offer, customers allow their electric distribution companies to purchase the electricity they use, with rates changing every six months.