A newly filed bill in the Connecticut legislature seems to take aim at a “backroom deal” that would reportedly give Sen. John Fonfara, D-Hartford, a seat as a Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) commissioner.
The bill would bar anyone who has served as the executive of a company that has received a PURA violation or that has been engaged in litigation against PURA from serving as a commissioner.
In addition, it would also declare that a commissioner formerly employed by a utility regulated by PURA has “such a substantial conflict” in matters concerning their former employer that they would have to recuse themselves from any decisions affecting that former employer for five years. It would also create conditions for appointments based on previous work history and experience.
Inside Investigator previously reported that PURA prevented Wattifi, an energy company Fonfara partly owned, from relinquishing its license for over a year after it had shut down. Wattifi attempted to give up the license prior to a 2023 PURA ruling requiring it to pay roughly $57,000 to Eversource and United Illuminating for upgrades to billing technology. Even though the company had filed for dissolution with the secretary of state’s office, PURA began levying fines against Wattifi for nonpayment.
If the bill becomes law, the provision against energy executives whose companies had previously run afoul of PURA serving as commissioners would go into effect on October 1 of this year.
In February, Democrats secured the controversial renomination of PURA chair Marissa Gillett in exchange for several concessions, which include moving PURA from under the jurisdiction of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and making it a quasi-public agency. The move would also increase the number of commission seats from three to five, including for Fonfara and former Republican House of Representatives member Holly Cheeseman.
The provision is one of several in the bill, which was filed as a committee bill in the Government Administrations and Elections (GAE) Committee that looks to increase transparency and accountability at PURA.
The bill would increase the amount of notice PURA is required to give ahead of public hearings from one week to two weeks. It would also extend the amount of time former PURA commissioners are prohibited from accepting a job lobbying for utilities from one year to five years.
The bill would also subject certain utility companies to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). It would require a public service company “with more than two hundred thousand customers in the state, with respect to any portions of its business under the regulation of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority” to comply with FOIA. While the state’s largest utilities, like Eversource and United Illuminating, would be subject to FOIA because of the number of customers they serve, not all utilities would meet that threshold. While Aquarion Water Company has approximately 230,000 customers and would be subject to FOIA, Connecticut Water has approximately 107,000 customers and would fall below the threshold subject to FOIA. Connecticut Natural Gas would also fall below the threshold.
In addition, the bill would prohibit electric, gas, water, and pipeline companies from using rates or other direct costs to recover the costs of complying with FOIA from ratepayers.
The bill would also prohibit a utility from owning both gas and electric. Eversource and Avangrid currently own both.
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There was no deal. There was only strategy. The strategy was created in the backroom closet off the back of the backroom. The question was this, “How do we get Fonfara to shut the f*ck up so we can f*ck’n get this sh*t done?” Someone in the closet said, “Tell him he gets a seat at the table in exchange for silence.” That’s when Marissa chimed in, “He owes us like a million bucks in fines and penalties.” “Well I know that, you know that, and Katie knows that, but the rest of the idiots don’t know that. Hell freezes over before we actually give him a seat, but it buys us a day or two before the media can tell their ass from their elbow. Tell everybody were going Quasi. God forbid we take a hit on that PURA Rate Increase Case, not to mention to extra $2mil a year we got coming for failure to mitigate whatever pollution we decided is still there at the English, we may need to pivot. Even if it goes our way in court, we might still need to pivot in order for Katie to come through clean with our half-a-billion from UI in 2026. Think about the optics of that award right before an election. We’ll look like g*ddamn heroes to the taxpayers of this state. Tong will ski right through the polls and dismount squarely in my chair wearing his big boy pants. Trust me, they’ll buy it. They have no choice. No go pretend like we’re serious. And remember to play super dumb when it comes out about Fonfara’s companies. Actually, as soon as we get Marissa through, plant the seed with the media, not directly of course. Use your contacts. I can’t stomach Fonfara for much longer than 24 hours anyhow.”
It’s all a waste of time. Why do you think DEEP chose today of all days to take the podium and announce their settlement with Soundview? It’s called a warning shot. Tomorrow is Lamont’s Big Day. S.B. No. 1404–JS to the Floor. H.B. No. 7085–JSF to the Floor LCO#6730. This is it. This is the end. You think PURA has too much power ha? Wait until you see the power DEEP is inheriting with the adoption of these regulations. That’s what today’s announcement was. To everyone who thought to question and/or challenge our authority, discretionary or statutorily assigned, we are not an agency soon to forget. Pay attention. Consider Soundview Transportation your client. Watch us take their money. Now shut your smart mouths and know your place.
DEEP will sooner torture Stakeholders and The Working Group rather than take a single one of their suggestions over the next 5 years. H.B. 7085 is 5 years of servitude in DEEP’s 7th Circle of Hell.
Save this comment. It’s the last one I’ll ever make. Game is over.
😂😂😂😂😂