The state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority is pushing for more independence in the wake of a 2011 merger that put it under the aegis of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
In a memo to members of the Malloy administration outlining PURA’s 2014 report and 2015 agenda, the three commissioners cite a need for “radical restructuring” in 2015.
“Work remains to be done to bring PURA to where it needs to be as a serious, independent, professional, respected and efficient regulatory body,” the PURA commissioners wrote.
While the memo applauds DEEP Commissioner Rob Klee for working to improve relations with PURA, the commissioners outline problems they say are a direct result of the agency’s ties to DEEP.
“PURA believes we urgently need to change our structural relationship with DEEP,” the memo says. “The inclusion of the public utility regulatory authority within DEEP was an unusual step, one not taken elsewhere in the United States, and one that should be discontinued.”
Problems include DEEP’s control over PURA’s budget and personnel management, staffing cuts resulting in an “aggressive reduction” in the size of the agency and trouble agreeing on “human resource decisions,” according to the memo.
“Now entering the fourth year of experimenting with the placement of PURA within DEEP, much of the relationship remains dysfunctional and ethical strains are obvious despite the best efforts and good will of all involved,” the commissioners wrote.
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Gov. Dannel Malloy responded with skepticism to the agency’s demands.
“I’m not in agreement with it,” he said. “I’ve been in government a long time. I used to people wanting to have their own empire. I don’t believe that’s what’s necessary. I think we need to constantly be looking for greater efficiencies.”
Malloy urged the commissioners to resign if they’re unhappy with the state of affairs.
