Hartford Business Journal

30 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | NOVEMBER 3, 2025 Opinion & Commentary EDITOR'S TAKE Amid reset, PURA needs less politics, more balance G ov. Ned Lamont's sweeping rebuild of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority marks the end of one of the most combative eras in Connecticut's utility regulation. That's a good thing for Connecticut businesses and residents. With Chairwoman Marissa Gillett stepping down after a five-year tenure marked by public feuds, lawsuits and calls for impeachment, and four new commissioners — led by consumer advocate Thomas Wiehl — now taking the reins, the agency faces a chance to reset. Gillett's departure was as dramatic as her tenure. She resigned in September after months of escalating conflict with utilities, lawmakers and even fellow commissioners. In her resig- nation letter, she cited the emotional toll of constant disputes and the cycle of litigation that, in her words, pulled "atten- tion and resources away from what matters most: keeping rates just and reasonable, improving service, and plan- ning a resilient, reliable energy future." To her supporters, Gillett was a reformer unafraid to challenge powerful companies. Under her leadership, PURA embraced performance-based ratemaking — tying utility profits to customer outcomes rather than guar- anteed returns — and took a notably harder line on rate-increase requests, often approving far less than what utilities sought. Her critics, however, saw an agency veering into activism, driven more by political combat than balanced regulation. The state's major utilities, Eversource and United Illuminating, accused PURA of arbitrary decisions that cut deeply into their allowed reve- nues and contributed to credit down- grades that could hinder investment in Connecticut's grid. Lamont's newly appointed board almost completely remakes PURA's composition. Wiehl, the legal and regula- tory director for the Office of Consumer Counsel, will be joined by former GOP state Rep. Holly Cheeseman, Michigan State University energy policy professor Janice Beecher, Greenwich energy and sustainable infrastructure investor Everett Smith, and active commissioner David Arconti Jr. Their collective backgrounds — span- ning consumer advocacy, academia, finance and government — represent a blend of perspectives that could bring greater balance and stability to PURA after years of turbulence. That's precisely what the agency needs. Regulation is not supposed to be theater. The public quarrels between Gillett and the utilities may have drawn attention, but they eroded trust in the state's regulatory environment. Connecticut cannot afford that insta- bility. A healthy tension between regula- tors and utilities is normal, even necessary, but constant confrontation discourages investment and delays modernization projects the state badly needs. The new leadership should return PURA to its core mission: fair, lawful, fact- based ratemaking. The agency shouldn't be a rubber stamp for the industry, but it also shouldn't act as a consumer-protec- tion crusader. Connecticut already has an Office of Consumer Counsel for that. PURA's strength lies in its ability to make consistent, transparent decisions that balance cost, reliability and long- term infrastructure needs. Reliability, in fact, is one area where Connecticut performs relatively well. Util- ities have invested heavily in storm-hard- ening and grid upgrades, efforts that could be jeopardized if the regulatory environment remains unpredictable. If companies fear that legitimate costs won't be recoverable, they'll scale back or redirect capital elsewhere — a lose-lose for ratepayers and the state's energy future. There's a lot at stake, including the future reliability of Connecticut's electric grid and the cost of energy in the state, which is already among the highest in the country. Will a tougher stance on rate approvals lower energy bills? Perhaps, but it doesn't mean regulators can bend the law to achieve that end. And, blaming high electricity costs solely on Eversource or Avangrid is misguided. Those companies only distribute power — they don't generate it. Lawmakers made that decision in 1998, when Connecticut deregulated its electric industry. Since then, a complex mix of factors has driven up prices — from the region's dependence on natural gas and limited pipeline capacity, to state-mandated renewable programs and infrastructure expenses tied to maintaining poles, wires and substations in a densely populated area. In short, Connecticut's high electric rates stem not from one culprit, but from decades of policy decisions and regional market realities. Going green is expensive, and ratepayers ultimately foot the bill. Wiehl's early comments struck the right tone, promising collaboration and inclusion. His background suggests he'll protect consumers, but his success will depend on restoring confidence — among utilities, lawmakers and the public — that PURA's decisions are guided by evidence, not ideology. OTHER VOICES Challenges and optimism: Assessing CT's commercial real estate market By Laura Bellotti Cardillo C ommercial real estate is at the economic core of cities and towns throughout Connecticut. While business owners and landlords face some of the highest property taxes in the nation, among other unique challenges that come with operating here, there are emerging opportunities and reasons for optimism. I recently moderated a panel focused on office, multifamily, hotel and retail properties at Hartford Business Journal's third annual Cranes & Scaffolds Commercial Real Estate Conference held at the Aqua Turf. The esteemed panel included: • Patrick Mulready, a managing director at commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield; • Chris Reilly, president and CEO of development company Lexington Partners; • Randy Salvatore, founder and CEO of real estate development firm RMS Cos.; • Jim Litterer, real estate practice director at IMA Financial Group; and • Chris Arnold, senior vice president and department head of commercial real estate lending at Liberty Bank. Here are some takeaways from the session. Return to office, or convert it? Office space can be divided into three segments, and despite the spread of remote work, two are performing quite well. As more workers return to the office, the under-10,000-square-foot market is strong and the 10,000-to-20,000-square- foot range is strengthening. The outlier is the 20,000-plus-square-foot segment. While the market for large offices is active, we are seeing a flight to quality. This means that tenants that are leasing property are willing to pay a premium to significantly downsize to a building with more amenities in a sought-after location. With strategic planning, there is oppor- tunity to repurpose some downtown office buildings in Connecticut, where occu- pancy rates have yet to recover since the pandemic. The main obstacle is tenant improvement costs, which are roughly double what they were a decade ago. Finding alternative uses for vacant space is critical to prevent downtowns from hollowing out. Converting offices to multifamily housing is a popular strategy, but high development costs and a persistent capital gap continue to complicate deals. Public-private partnerships will be essential to move such projects forward. Experiential retail and amenitized housing While you can find just about anything online, consumers still can't have real- life retail experiences on their phone or computer. Providing an experience is where the opportunity lies in retail. In Hartford, for example, we've seen recent upgrades to the PeoplesBank Arena and Dunkin' Park, as well as surrounding restaurants, bars, museums, art galleries and parks. Those spaces are becoming the central retail amenities in downtown areas. Hotels in the state have done surpris- ingly well during the rebound following the pandemic. Revenues have remained steady following back-to-back record- breaking years, and the success is mostly attributed to a rapid shift from serving business guests to welcoming leisure guests. What cities need to survive and thrive is a high volume of people, and this type of development and expansion helps immeasurably with downtown migration. We're seeing the results of it in some Connecticut cities that boast successful restaurants, bars and other retail options for their rising population. It becomes a cycle of prosperity. In recent years, commercial real estate in general has become a buyer's market, with everyone from single tenants to those with multimillion-dollar portfolios able to negotiate favorable terms. In Connecticut, construction for multifamily use has been much more prevalent than building office space. Top-tier residential properties in Connecticut are second to none, thoroughly amenitized and attractive to young people and empty-nesters alike; multifamily demand shows no signs of slowing down. But the drop-off to the next level of affordability is quite large. There's a wide-open opportunity for developers there to close the gap. Laura Bellotti Cardillo is vice chair of the property tax and valuation practice at the law firm Pullman & Comley. Greg Bordonaro Laura Bellotti Cardillo

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