Utility
2.0
Last-minute legislation will
push Connecticut toward
utility grid of the future
By Brad Kane
I
t almost didn't happen.
As this year's legislative
session was winding down in
June at the Connecticut General
Assembly, the marquee energy bill
designed to keep the state at the
forefront of industry moderniza-
tion sat in the House waiting to be
called for a vote, which never came.
Luckily, the bill's champion —
State Rep. Lonnie Reed (D-Branford)
and a host of industry and govern-
ment officials — kept pushing and
got the legislation's provisions writ-
ten into the budget implementer
bill that passed a week later.
Thus began Connecticut's foray
into Utility 2.0.
www.CTGreenGuide.com FALL 2015 • CONNECTICUT GREEN GUIDE 7
State Rep. Lonnie
Reed (D-Branford),
co-chair of the
legislature's
Energy &
Technology
Committee,
said utilities
need to better
accommodate
renewable energy
installations, like
this five-megawatt
solar farm in
Somers owned by
Dominion.
PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER
