Marissa Paslick Gillett Elected PURA Chair

From PURA: The Commissioners of the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) on Wednesday, May 1, 2019, elected Marissa Paslick Gillett as PURA Chairman. Gillett was appointed last month as a PURA Commissioner by Governor Ned Lamont, and is awaiting legislative confirmation.

“I am very excited and honored to lead PURA in focusing on the delivery of clean, affordable and reliable energy to all Connecticut residents and businesses,” said Gillett. “Fostering innovative approaches to grid modernization is a passion of mine, and I look forward to working collaboratively alongside the dedicated and high-caliber staff and commissioners of the Authority to achieve our mission in the most cost-effective manner possible.”

From 2011 to 2018, Gillett worked at the Maryland Public Service Commission, an independent agency within the Maryland state government that regulates public utilities, where she most recently served as the senior advisor to the chairman. Her duties included a number of matters on energy issues in the state, such as advising the agency’s chairman and other commissioners on technical, legal and policy matters related to offshore wind procurement, statewide energy efficiency programs, advanced metering infrastructure, grid reliability issues and electric vehicles. Additionally, she represented the commission on these topics by testifying before the Maryland General Assembly and by leading stakeholder engagement initiatives as part of the state’s grid modernization proceeding. Immediately preceding her appointment, Gillett served as vice president of external relations with the Energy Storage Association, a national trade association representing the energy storage industry.

Gillett received a bachelor of science in bioengineering from Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina, and a juris doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law in Baltimore, Maryland.

Gillett will serve the remainder of the term that was most recently held by Katie Dykes, who left her position at PURA earlier this year to become commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).

PURA, which is administratively held within DEEP, is governed by three commissioners, all of whom are appointed by the governor with the legislature’s advice and consent and serve four-year terms, with one commissioner serving as chairperson and another as vice chairperson. The two other commissioner positions are currently held by John W. Betkoski, III, who serves as vice chairman, and Michael Caron.