A legislative panel voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to advance the nomination of a former lawmaker and utility lobbyist to serve as a commissioner on the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. David Arconti, a Democrat who represented Danbury for a decade in the state House of Representatives, has been working as an interim utility commissioner since last August, after being nominated for the post by Gov. Ned Lamont. Prior to that, he was vice president of state government relations for Avangrid, the parent company of Orange’s United Illuminating, and also worked briefly for a fuel cell company based in his hometown of Danbury. While in the legislature, Arconti served for several years as co-chair of the Energy and Technology Committee and helped lead the passage of bipartisan reforms in 2020 that were a response to the utilities’ widely-panned handling of damage from Tropical Storm Isaias. On Thursday, his nomination was approved 20-1 in the Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee, with both Democrats and Republicans praising his tenure at the state Capitol and in the private sector. “You came up to speed very quickly,” state Rep. Bob Godfrey, D-Danbury, said while recounting Arconti’s handling of one of the legislature’s most notoriously complex committee assignments. “It isn’t just electric, it’s also telephone, it’s also water. That’s a lot on the Energy and Technology plate.” The sole vote against his nomination Thursday came from state Rep. Tammy Nuccio, R-Tolland. The tone of Thursday’s hearing was markedly different from when PURA’s chairwoman, Marissa Gillett, faced hours of grilling by lawmakers last month over her leadership of the authority and tumultuous relationship with the utilities. Gillett, who is up for a second term as commissioner, ultimately advanced on a party-line vote over opposition from Republicans. Arconti said that he’s developed a good working relationship with both Gillett and Commissioner Michael Caron during his six months on the job. When asked how he handles matters involving his former employer, Avangrid, Arconti said he regularly consults with the authority’s legal staff to avoid conflicts of interest. “I believe effective regulators are decisive, independent and respectful, and these are the characteristics I will exemplify in this role,” Arconti said in his opening statement. He added, “One of our primary responsibilities as regulators is to determine that the level and structure of rates be sufficient, but no more than sufficient, to allow public service companies to cover their operating costs.” Arconti is one of two members of PURA appointed by Lamont since 2019, along with Gillett. By law, as many as five commissioners can serve on the authority at a time, but Lamont has generally opted to keep its size at three commissioners with two vacant seats. As part of a deal reached last month to secure support for Gillett’s renomination, Lamont agreed to fill both vacancies by appointing state Sen. John Fonfara, D- Hartford, and former state Rep. Holly Cheeseman, R- East Lyme, to the PURA. Those nominations have yet to be formally announced by the governor’s office, and Fonfara has since faced scrutiny over his stake in several companies operating within the electric and utility markets. House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said Thursday that the chamber will take up both the nominations of Arconti and Gillett the next time it meets in session, which he said will likely be in early April. If approved by the House, the Senate must also vote to confirm both picks. “The addition of David Arconti as a PURA commissioner will bring a fresh perspective to this body, especially when it comes to initiatives that will reduce energy costs for consumers and promote clean energy,” Lamont said in a statement released after the vote. “Several years ago when he was a legislator, David led approval of the Take Back Our Grid Act, reforming how our utilities are regulated from a cost-of-service ratemaking structure — an approach that benefitted the interests of utilities — to a performance-based structure, which puts the interests of consumers first.” ...read more read less