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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JANUARY 12, 2026 13 5 TO WATCH Thomas Wiehl began his career at Marvel Comics after graduating from Bennington College. He abandoned his artistic pursuits for a career in law and public service, joining PURA as chairman in October. HBJ Photo | Steve Laschever In June 2025, Moody's Ratings downgraded the credit ratings of Eversource Energy subsidiary Connecticut Light and Power Co., calling Connecticut "the least credit supportive utility regulatory environ- ment in the U.S." Beginning in 2024, Eversource Energy and United Illuminating cut capital spending in Connecticut, arguing that PURA had created an "unstable and unpredict- able" regulatory climate that discouraged investment. Top priorities Already, PURA is facing a new round of high-stakes cases. Connecticut's largest water utility, Aquarion, in December announced plans to seek a 42% rate increase totaling about $88 million, just weeks after regulators blocked its parent company, Eversource Energy, from selling the utility to a nonprofit entity. Other pending dockets address efforts to modernize Connecticut's regulatory framework, including a possible shift toward perfor- mance-based ratemaking. Wiehl has recused himself from those matters because of his prior work at the Office of Consumer Counsel. For now, Wiehl said his focus is on stabilizing the agency itself — overseeing PURA's separation from the Department of Energy and Envi- ronmental Protection on Oct. 1, inte- grating four new commissioners and rebuilding internal processes and docket management. "We are … working through this transition," he said. "Out of the five, four of us haven't been here before the last couple of months." internal processes and credibility following leadership turmoil that culminated in the abrupt resignation of former chair Marissa Gillett, whose tenure was marked by aggressive oversight, strained relations with utilities, repeated public disputes over rates and policies, and criti- cism from lawmakers and industry executives over decision-making and governance. That reset will unfold alongside a significant expansion of the commis- sion, which recently grew from three to five members, with four of the commissioners — including Wiehl — new to the board. Since Wiehl took over as chair, PURA has already found itself at the center of a controversial deci- sion. In November, the agency's commissioners voted 4-0 to reject Eversource Energy's proposed $2.4 billion sale of Aquarion Water Co., citing concerns over governance and managerial suitability. Eversource sued PURA in Superior Court, arguing the agency exceeded its authority by rejecting the deal. Wiehl recused himself from the Aquarion vote because of his prior involvement while at the Office of Consumer Counsel. Managing tension After his stint at Marvel, Wiehl's education and professional career took him down several different paths. He earned a master's degree in fine art at California College of the Arts, specializing in printmaking, but he soon realized that type of work wasn't a good fit. He then spent a year teaching high school in a low-income area of Oakland, California. "That was my first exposure to actually interacting with people who had actual problems in their life," said Wiehl, who grew up in Connecticut. That perspective prompted him to rethink his priorities and question whether he was spending his time in the most meaningful way. He ultimately enrolled at the University of Connecticut School of Law with the goal of working in public service. After graduating, Wiehl spent about five years as a public defender in Massachusetts, representing indigent clients, before returning to Connecticut, briefly working in the private sector and joining the state Office of Consumer Counsel in 2020, where he most recently served as legal and regulatory director. That progression — from art to law to public service — now shapes how Wiehl approaches utility regu- lation, particularly his view that PURA must act as a stand-in for the competitive market that cannot exist in an industry dominated by legal monopolies. "The whole point of economic regulation is that you're talking about monopolies here," Wiehl explains. "People ultimately don't have a choice of which electric distribution company distributes the electricity to them, and PURA is supposed to be the stand-in for that missing compo- nent, for the choice of the market." It's a particularly important role in Connecticut, which had the third- highest electric rates in the country as of September 2025, after Hawaii and California, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Wiehl sees PURA as managing the tension between two extremes: consumers wanting free elec- tricity and companies wanting to maximize profits. His approach differs from his previous role at OCC, which acts as "the voice of the consumer" in rate cases. PURA, by contrast, is "the steward of the ratepayer dollar" — a subtle but meaningful distinction. "My role is to consider all of the arguments before me, all the facts before me," he said. Wiehl said he will recuse himself from roughly 30 cases he worked on at OCC that remain open before PURA. Collaborative decision-making But he'll be deeply involved in every- thing else as the agency transitions to having five commissioners for the first time in years. His predecessor, Gillett, was accused by critics of making unilateral decisions and limiting other commissioners' participation, allegations that include lawsuits by Eversource and Avangrid claiming she violated state law by appointing herself presiding officer over hundreds of dockets and issuing decisions under the executive secretary's signature. Wiehl, by contrast, has emphasized collective decision-making. "Part of my regulatory philos- ophy is that it's all of our regulatory philosophy," he said. "We have a five-member commission. Each of us has one vote on every single docket. It's important to me to make sure that everyone's perspective is part of the conversation." For now, all five commissioners will participate in all votes and decisions. Over time, PURA may assign three commissioners to some dockets, as permitted by statute, but major rate cases will continue to require partici- pation by the full commission. That collaborative mindset also shapes how Wiehl approaches diffi- cult policy questions that lack clear or simple solutions. One example is Connecticut's controversial public benefits charge, which drew heightened scrutiny after electric rates spiked in 2024. While some have called for removing part or all of the public benefits charge from electric bills, Wiehl points to the complexity involved. "If the public is being asked to pay bills, they should understand what they're paying for," he said, arguing that transparency is crucial despite the difficult policy conversations it can create. He noted that the public benefits charge includes dozens of separate components, each raising distinct policy and legal questions. Notably absent from Wiehl's comments is any suggestion that PURA needs a "reset," or that the regulatory pendulum has swung too far in any direction — despite recent complaints from utilities and cred- it-rating agencies about Connecticut's regulatory environment.