Lawmakers gave their final approval to a new slate of commissioners at the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority during the final two days of the legislative session. It was the final step in a months-long, near-total makeover of PURA following last year’s resignation of former Chair Marissa Gillett, whose relationship with both lawmakers and the utilities she regulated had grown acrimonious. The nominees included Thomas Wiehl of Madison, a former attorney in the Office of Consumer Counsel, as well as former state Rep. Holly Cheeseman of East Lyme, energy policy professor Janice Beecher of New Britain, and investor Everett Smith of Greenwich. Wiehl was also tapped to serve as chair of the authority, replacing Gillett. The Senate approved all four nominees on Tuesday in a series of votes that crossed party lines. The resolutions confirming two of the nominees — Beecher and Cheeseman — had already been reviewed and passed by the House earlier this year. The other two, Wiehl and Smith, required seperate votes in the House on Wednesday, the final day of the legislative session, to confirm their appointments. Both nominees were approved by voice vote. All four of the nominees had already been serving in interim roles since their appointments were announced by Gov. Ned Lamont in October. Their confirmation by lawmakers allows them to officially begin serving four-year terms on PURA. The only commissioner whose service pre-dates the new slate is Vice Chair David Arconti, a former state lawmaker and lobbyist for United Illuminaing who was appointed by Lamont in 2024. It is the first time since the authority was expanded to five members in 2019 that all of the positions on the board are filled. “We are honored to have been confirmed by the General Assembly and grateful to serve the people of Connecticut,” the nominees said in a joint statement on Wednesday. “Together, we are dedicated to collaborative and fair deliberation and decision making and look forward to working with our professional staff to fulfill the critical public-interest role of PURA commissioners.” Sen. Ryan Fazio, R-Greenwich, offered support for the nominees on Tuesday, in particular Cheeseman and Smith. Fazio serves as the ranking member of the Energy and Technology Committee, and is also seeking the GOP nomination for governor. “I am hopeful that this can be a new day and a positive new direction for PURA and eventually our utility consumers across the state,” Fazio said. But each of the nominees also received a small number of “no” votes from both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate. Sen. Mae Flexer, D-Windham, voted against all four of the nominees. Asked why, she pointed to several controversial decisions by the newly-constituted authority, including its approval of the sale of Eversource’s Aquarion Water Company and a November rate hike for Yankee Gas customers. “Recent decisions by PURA have given me pause that these commissioners may not be putting consumers at the forefront of their thinking,” Flexer said. State Sen. Jeff Gordon, R-Woodstock, also voted against all four nominees. Each of the nominees appeared in person before the legislature’s Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee in March to answer questions about the state’s high cost of electricity as well as their ability to work collaboratively on complex utility issues. The committee backed all the nominees in a series of bipartisan votes. ...read more read less