PURA Chairwoman Marissa Gillett has provided Gov. Ned Lamont with a resignation letter, announcing her intent to leave the position on Oct. 10.
Gillett’s tenure was a controversial one, attracting scrutiny from the state’s utilities, who have taken Gillett and PURA to court, but also maintaining the support of the Governor’s Office and a handful of legislative allies. Ultimately, Gillett wrote that she felt the controversy and legal drama her tenure brought about has both overshadowed the work of the agency and taken a toll on her personally.
“While I have never shied away from principled disagreement, the escalation of disputes into a cycle of lawsuits and press statements pulls attention and resources away from what matters most: keeping rates just and reasonable, improving service, and planning a resilient, reliable energy future,” said Gillett, in her resignation letter. “It has also exacted a real emotional toll both for me personally, as well as my family, and for my team. I did not make this decision lightly, but there is only so much that one individual can reasonably endure, or ask of their family, while doing their best to serve our state.”
In January Eversource and Avangrid attorneys filed a court injunction against PURA. The two utilities have accused Gillett of running the commission as a one-woman show by issuing decisions unilaterally and unfairly by signing off on thousands of motions via the use of a signature block, implying those decisions were made by a vote of the Commission. They have even gone as far as to blame her tenure for their respective credit score downgradings.
Gillett’s resignation comes at a particularly controversial time for her; just a few months ago, she admitted in court to “inadvertently” deleting text messages between herself and Rep. Joseph Steinberg (D-Westport), and the utilities have recently received the court’s approval to depose both Steinberg and Sen. Norm Needleman (D-Essex).
Despite the controversy, Gillett, who was first appointed by the governor in 2019, is only five months into her second five-year tenure, after a narrowly approved reappointment which drew the ire of several Republican lawmakers, and required the Governor to agree to several conditions set by Gillett opponents on the Nominations Committee. Republican Senate Leader Stephen Harding (Brookfield) made note of this reappointment in a statement, emphasizing their continued support of their decision to walk out of the Senate’s vote on her reapproval.
“Senate Republicans had no choice but to walk out. We were and remain outraged about the blatant and awful quid pro quo deal between Gov. Lamont and top Democrats,” said Harding. “Senate Republicans would not allow our constituents to be complicit in what had occurred. What happened to get the chairwoman’s vote out of the Executive Nominations Committee smacked of bribery and corruption. It still does. Yet, the governor and Democrats had no problem with it.”
The Governor’s Office issued a statement in response to the news, touting her as having “led led rigorous reviews” into five utility rate cases, leading to “rate reductions for three utilities and holding the rate increases for the remaining two to only what was proven as necessary.” Her creation of the Office of Education, Outreach, and Enforcement was also highlighted, both in Gillett’s letter and Lamont’s statement, which both said, “has become a national model for public engagement and is even being replicated in other states and at the federal level.” Lamont said her “breadth of knowledge, analytical skillset and experience in energy policy, combined with her commitment to fairness and her ability to navigate complex cases were beneficial to our state and ratepayers.”
“Marissa is one of the most experienced and qualified public utility regulators in the country,” said Lamont. “At a time when we are working to manage the cost of energy, PURA has aided in those efforts. On behalf of our state, I am appreciative of her public service and dedication to our state and its ratepayers.”
In her resignation letter, Gillett ultimately thanked the governor for “the opportunity to serve Connecticut,” saying she’s “proud of what we built and optimistic about what comes next.” She also said that she will do “all I can” to make sure that the office transitions smoothly upon her departure.
“I have every confidence that the staff, whom I admire so greatly, as well as my capable colleagues, will continue to champion the important reforms underway as the result of our work to enhance transparency and accountability for the regulated utilities in this state,” said Gillett. “The ratepayers of this state, whom I have been so proud to serve, deserve nothing less.”
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So when does former Senator Norm Needleman begin his first day as Chair of PURA? Probably October 11th but lets give him until the 15th to get his name on the office door. I am curious to learn what changes people believe Gillett’s resignation will bring about. Because a lot of money was spent on this moment. I’m expecting to see drastic cuts in energy and electricity costs for CT ratepayers starting October 11th. Remember Crazy Eddie from the 80’s? Right, the stereo equipment, that guy. I want to see the Utilities and their investors do that same commercial but slash their own profit margins. I wanna watch it and be like, “These rates really aren’t insane. They’re actually quite normal compared to the rest of the country.”
It is complicated issue that has been poorly articulated to the general public. I think this is a mistake.