Chair Of Connecticut's Public Utility Regulatory Authority Tenders Her Resignation

HARTFORD, CT — Gov. Ned Lamont Friday announced that he has received a letter from Marissa Paslick Gillett informing him that she will be resigning from her position with the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.

The move is effective Oct. 10.

Gillett has served on PURA since 2019, including a current stint as its chair.

"After deep reflection, I write to tender my resignation as Chair of the Public Utilities Regulatory
Authority, effective October 10, 2025," Gillett said. "Serving the people of Connecticut in this role has been the honor of my professional life."

Her tenure endured testy times of late, with utilities and regulators jostling over rate adjustments, state credits and supply charges.

"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," she said. "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."

Here is the full transcript of the letter.

Said Lamont, "Marissa is one of the most experienced and qualified public utility regulators in the country,. 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 brought an outsider’s perspective and a fresh set of eyes to help advance our policy goals of bringing cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable power to the people of our state. Among her accomplishments are instituting critically needed reforms and leading rigorous reviews into the distribution rates of five regulated utilities that led to rate reductions. 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."

Said Gillett, "With the help of PURA’s amazing staff, my fellow commissioners and I have championed an approach that provided rigorous but fair scrutiny to utility rate increase requests and other matters," Chairman Gillett said. "I can confidently say that we fulfilled our statutory mission and held the regulated utilities to a high standard of accountability. I am deeply grateful for the opportunities and the people I’ve met through my work at PURA, and I will do all I can to ensure a smooth transition of my responsibilities. 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. The ratepayers of this state, whom I have been so proud to serve, deserve nothing less."

Lamont said that, under Gillett's leadership, PURA led "rigorous reviews into the distribution rates of five regulated utilities, leading to rate reductions for three utilities and holding the rate increases for the remaining two to only what was proven as necessary to run the utility franchise."

Additionally, Lamont said, "PURA created the Office of Education, Outreach, and Enforcement, which has become a national model for public engagement and is even being replicated in other states and at the federal level."

Eversource Energy officials politely declined comment, as did United Illuminating executives.

Things did turn political as the news spread.

State Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding today issued the following statement regarding Gillett's decision.

"In April, the Senate Republican Caucus made an unprecedented move. We boycotted the vote on Chair Gillett’s re-nomination. That decision is looking better and better. We walked out of the Senate Chamber in a stark protest against the backroom deal involving a Democrat state senator and the governor that led to the vote. After we walked out, Chair Gillett was then approved by Democrats in a 21-0 vote. 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. 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. Questions remain. Did the governor ask for her resignation? He should set the record straight. It’s long past time for full disclosure. Senate Republicans will always side with ratepayers and transparency over bureaucrats and backroom deals."

State Sen, Norm Needleman, the Democratic Senate Chair of the Energy and Technology Committee, said, "I am saddened that Chairwoman Gillett is stepping down from PURA. I am thankful for her work to save Connecticut ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars."