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10 ConneCtiCut Green Guide • Summer 2014 www.CtGreenGuide.com News Cycle GOVERNMENT WATCH Legislature Takes On Consumer Protections, Shared Solar I n a relatively quiet session compared to previous years, the Connecticut General Assembly moved forward on consumer protec- tions for electricity supply customers and the concept of shared solar. "We didn't have a lot of bills this year because we are giving time for the bills we passed last year," said State Sen. Bob Duff (D-Norwalk), co-chair of the state's Energy & Technology Committee. Indeed, last year the legislature passed Gov. Dannel Malloy's compre- hensive energy strategy calling for a $7 billion expansion of the natural gas home heating system and submetering at multi-unit properties. The legislature also approved major changes to the state's renewable energy policy, including large-scale hydro and giving the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection new power to purchase renewable electricity. That came after several other big legislative years that included creating the state-sponsored green bank Clean Energy Finance & Investment Authority As electricity rates have spiked, Connecticut officials are increas- ingly concerned with protecting ratepayers. PHOTO | HBJ FiLe Government Grades by Brad Kane WiNd ReguLaTiON — Connecticut's legislative, environmental, energy, and executive officials finally come together to create a consensus on regulations for wind turbines, lifting a three-year ban on new turbine construction. We are pleased with the progress, but couldn't this have been done back in 2011? SuPPLieR ReguLaTiONS — Gov. Dannel Malloy and legislators crafted harsher rules for the competitive electricity supply industry, after companies are accused of deceptive practices. The rules governing this complex industry needed a polish, but officials didn't mind before wholesale price spikes forced suppliers to raise rates. grade: C- grade: B- Ousted CL&P President Lands With Georgia Firm Former Connecticut Light & Power presi- dent Jeff Butler, who resigned amid the public outcry following power outages in 2011, has landed as a senior vice president with a Geor- gia energy company. Butler had kept a low profile since offer- ing up his resignation following the outage in October 2011 that left more than 800,000 CL&P customers without power, some for up to 11 days. That emergency came after an August outage left more than 670,000 customers without power for up to nine days. CL&P was found to be deficient and inadequate in its response, in part because of missed projected restoration times. After staying out of the workforce for more than a year following his November 2011 resignation, Butler started working in January 2013 as a principle advisor for Georgia-based TRC Solutions. He was then promoted to senior vice president of power utility develop- ment in April, according to company spokes- woman Angela Cincotta. TRC is a 3,000-em- ployee company with locations in the U.S. and Europe providing consulting and engineering in the energy and environmental markets. As senior vice president, Butler is leading TRC's new power utility development initia- tive, which is part of the company's efforts to maximize sales to utilities performing projects to maintain the safety and reliability of their systems, Cincotta said. Butler will work in de- velopment relationships with utilities using his expertise from 32 years as a utility executive. Butler operates out of Charlotte, N.C., where he moved after selling his Avon home in 2012. Jeff Butler, former president, Connecticut Light & Power