Rep. Scott Opposes Re-Appointment of PURA Chairman
Hartford, CT. – Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee Member Representative Tony Scott (R-112) voted in opposition to the re-appointment of Chairwoman Marissa Gillett as a Utility Commissioner of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, a role she’s held for five years.
“Connecticut has the second highest cost for electricity in the nation. The status quo isn’t working and something needs to change. We should start with the chairmanship of PURA, give the agency a fresh start. During her testimony before the committee, I didn’t hear about plans on how to lower electric rates and ease the burden on ratepayers and we still haven’t heard anything on that front,” said Rep. Scott.
Rep. Scott met one-on-one with Gillett ahead of the committee hearing on her nomination to ask her questions and voice constituent concerns over PURA’s recent decisions. His primary goal was to hear about the commission’s thought process on some of their recent rulings affecting electric rates.
“There’s plenty of blame to go around here on the rate shock Connecticut residents experienced over the summer and are still bearing the brunt of. We can point a finger at Gillett, PURA, Gov. Lamont, the utilities, and even the General Assembly. But now, Eversource is looking to give credits to ratepayers because the Millstone contract is paying off, but PURA is slamming the breaks on that request,” said Rep. Scott.
The Public Benefits section includes federal and state mandated programs and includes ones around renewable energy, such as the 2017 Millstone deal, energy efficiency initiatives like rebates for solar and EV charger installation, and assistance programs to protect hardship customers from electric shutoff.
“Some of these programs haven’t been evaluated to determine if they’re achieving their stated goals. Gov. Lamont has also taken a backseat on solving the problem of high energy costs. PURA decided a huge rate recover could happen in 10 months rather than two or three years. Gillett was ineffective at convincing her colleagues to reduce that burden,” noted Scott.
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