Senate Democrats Put Forth Energy Agenda

The Democratic leadership of the state Senate unveiled a series of proposals this morning to establish performance standards for utility companies, expand tree maintenance, build electric microgrids and enhance response in the aftermath of a storm.

No price tag was provided for the proposals, which are far more sweeping than those outlined earlier this year by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Sen. John Fonfara, D-Hartford and co-chairman of the legislature’s energy and technology committee, said lawmakers are looking at how to pay for their proposals, including using the state’s bonding authority to invest in energy, a first for Connecticut.

The flurry of legislation is a response to a series of devastating storms last year, notably Tropical Storm Irene in late summer and the Oct, nor’easter. Both storms felled trees and large branches, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of state residents for an extended period,

“It’s easy as we’ve gotten some months beyond the storms to forget about the impact that they had on all of our lives,” Fonfara said. “We have a responsibility as policy makers not to forget about what happened to our state in the fall.”

Like Malloy’s proposal, Senate Democrats are focusing on tree-trimming as a way to protect power lines. The governor is seeking $2 million to bolster the state Department of Transportation’s tree-trimming efforts. The department currently spends about $500,000 to trim trees along state roads.

The Senate Democrats did not specify a dollar figure but they are proposing a statewide tree-risk assessment as well as the establishment of a hazardous tree-removal fund to provide matching grants to homeowners to help pay for removal of trees on their property.

The lawmakers also endorsed an idea put forth by the state Office of Consumer Counsel that would change the way tree-trimming is conducted on private property. Under current law, utility companies and their contractors must receive a homeowner’s permission before trimming trees on their property. Under the Senate Democrts’ plan, the presumption would be shifted and utility companies would have an implicit right to trim trees unless the property owner specifically opts out.

The Senate Democrats are also embracing the idea of electric micro-grids to ensure city centers and other key facilities remain powered even during prolonged outages. Malloy’s budget sets aside $5 million to launch a pilot program to build the regional, small-scale power systems that can run independently of the larger electricity distribution system.

Malloy’s spokesman, Andrew Doba, said the governor shares the goals put forth by Senate Democrats. “The Governor is working to make sure we never again face the problems we had following the two major storms last year, and he believes that both the legislative package he submitted and the one proposed today will move us toward that goal. It’s very encouraging that there appears to be agreement on the need to increase the standards and benchmarks for utilities companies and to explore the possibility of micro-grids,” Doba said. “Also, the Governor recently allocated funding for a statewide, emergency preparedness exercise – the largest of its kind in recent history – which will be executed this fall. He looks forward to working with our partners in the legislature on this issue.”

Officials at Connecticut Light and Power Co. the state’s largest electric utility, welcome the “legislative dialogue and look forward to working with the Governor and the General Assembly” said company spokesman Mitch Gross.

“CL&P has already taken a number of proactive steps in this area. For example, we’ve met with the regional Councils of Government and secured their feedback, assigned town liaisons to all of the 149 communities we serve, and proposed a variety of infrastructure hardening initiatives including enhanced tree trimming,” Gross said in a statement. “We’ve had very constructive conversations with municipal and state officials on future opportunities to improve and will continue working with them during this legislative session.”

Several proposals pitched in the immediate aftermath, such as a provision to tie utility company executive pay to performance during outages, are not part of the Senate Democrats’ plan.

The plan does include establishing benchmarks for power restoration, something Fonfara said is “going to take a lot of work…it isn’t just saying sombody’s got to pay for something they did wrong,” he said. “We have to get this right to make sure the standards are correct…that the resources are in place so the utilities can do the work we expect of them…and if they don’t, then there are responsible actions taken to hold them accountable,” he said.

“I don’t think anyone in this state…i should say most people in this state, are interested in penalizing the utility for the sake of penalizing them,” Fonfara added. “What we want is to ensure power remains on whenever [practical.]”

Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams said he is optimistic that the proposals will be approved during the current legislative session, which began last week.

“I think that all of this is doable,” he said. “We didn’t regard this as…partisan in any way. We see folks coming together on these proposals.

“And,” Williams added, “all of these things were talking about are not pie in the sky, these represent nuts and bolts changes that can be accomplished for the benefit of ratepayers.”