What type of relationship should exist between a regulator and the regulated? It’s an age-old question that local, state and federal governments often struggle with. Most reasonable people would agree some tension ought to exist between an industry regulator and the companies it oversees. But the PURA-Eversource/UI squabbles go well beyond that, and could hinder future investment in the state’s electric infrastructure and clean energy efforts. The courts will also play a key role in deciding Connecticut’s utilites-regulatory squabbles, which center on PURA’s stricter scrutiny of electric, gas and water utility rate increase requests. The heightened oversight is occurring as the state moves to a new performance-based ratemaking framework that was mandated by the legislature in 2020, and is a hallmark of PURA Chairman Marissa Gillett’s tenure.

Bordonaro: Public fights between PURA, utility companies reflect challenges of industry regulation

Under the $225 million proposal, UI would have swapped aged transmission lines with new 100- to 135- foot monopoles south of the Metro-North railroad line, requiring 19.25 acres of easements and 6.5 acres tree clearing. Officials, including U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, State Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, State Rep. Jennifer Leeper and Fairfield First Selectman Bill Gerber, have staunchly opposed the plan, pointing to lasting impacts on historic properties and the local environment. Gerber recently promised a legal battle if the Siting Council were to approve it. According to council documents, the northern configuration would increase project costs by about $66.7 million, but reduce the needed easements to about 8 acres and tree clearing to 5.3 acres.

Siting Council Rejects UI Rail Line Project in Nonbinding Vote

Once a skeptic of nuclear energy, Energy and Technology Co-Chair State Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport, is now one of its staunchest supporters. Steinberg told CT Examiner this week that, like many of his contemporaries, he questioned the benefits of using nuclear energy. But those concerns have been alleviated through research, talking to field experts and visiting nuclear facilities throughout the country. Steinberg visited a power plant in South Carolina in November while attending the National Council of State Legislators’ quarterly meeting. The 2,073-megawatt Millstone site, owned by Dominion Energy, covers about 500 acres. According to the company, the plant produces enough electricity to power 2 million homes with low-cost and carbon-free electricity that helps the state fulfill its carbon-reduction goals. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, nuclear power provided 37 percent of in-state generation in Connecticut in 2022. Connecticut ranks among the 10 states with the highest share of electricity generated from nuclear power, according to the EIA.

Steinberg Embraces Nuclear Energy, Supports Third Nuclear Reactor at Millstone

Martin, speaking at town hall meeting Thursday, said he envisions a revitalized Main Street area, with streetscape and traffic-calming improvements, as well as the possibility of traffic circles in high accident areas. Martin said residents could soon begin to see Bissell Street closed down to motor vehicle traffic one or two days a week and then fully closed by summer. As for the derelict Silver Lane Plaza, Martin said a blue construction fence has been erected, signaling that the demolition of the plaza would be coming soon. Among other ongoing or future projects include the redevelopment of the former Holiday Inn on Roberts Street, which is being transformed into a Fairfield Inn & Towneplace Suites By Marriott, and the renovation of the Church Corners Inn, which will have 24 apartments, including two affordable units, and three separate commercial spaces on the ground floor. Construction is expected to begin this summer with completion expected in December 2026.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/capitalregion/article/east-hartford-mayor-connor-martin-development-18640690.php

The former Bridgewater Associates property is prepping to become new office spaces and housing, including affordable housing for people with disabilities, while paying homage to the outdoors in its aesthetic. The development would be called The Glendinning Village, named after its 1 Glendinning Place address and the man who built it in the 1960s, Ralph Glendinning. The project is a partnership between David Adam Realty President David Waldman and Eric O’Brien of Urbane Capital LLC and Sachem Capital. The duo began reviewing the project when the facility hit the market in late 2022. He added this project helps add to the town’s points needed to reach an affordable housing moratorium to prevent 8-30g developments from coming to Westport. The completion of this project will add 12 affordable housing moratorium points, while the original iteration only offered two, Waldman said.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/westport/article/westport-bridgewater-associates-affordable-housing-18636934.php

The massive redevelopment of a former factory building in New Britain will add more than 150 new apartments to the city early next year, city officials and developers said. Officials from WinnCompanies and WinnDevelopment, a Massachusetts-based developer and housing management firm, visited New Britain this week for a progress tour of 321 Ellis St., which is being converted into a senior- and affordable-housing hub with 154 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment units. The $85 million project broke ground in July 2023, and is about 30% completed, developers said, with an expected completion by early 2025. Mayor Erin Stewart said the project is another example of the city’s focus on finding adaptive reuse opportunities for New Britain’s many former factory buildings. Between several other projects in the city, hundreds of new apartments are opening in New Britain over the next several years.

https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/development-will-bring-154-apartments-to-new-britain-in-2025

First Selectman Fred Camillo said the town is working diligently to replace the rink, but they need to follow the proper process. Municipal Improvement status, commonly referred to as “MI,” is granted by the Planning and Zoning Commission. The Department of Public Works started presenting its rink replacement plan to the commission last year, but has not yet received MI. There are no rink replacement funds in the fiscal year 2024-2025 budget request, but there is $980,000 listed in the 2025-26 budget, which would be for architectural and engineering planning. Once MI is granted, the project will move to the Board of Selectmen for approval. Camillo said that could happen within the next month or so. Camillo previously helped secure a $5 million donation from residents Steven and Alexandra Cohen to help fund construction of the Cohen Eastern Greenwich Civic Center, which will open to the public later this year.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/greenwich-hamilton-rink-budget-18642092.php

A former factory site in the Hill section will soon be home to 150 affordable apartments. The city plans to use nearly $1 million in state grant funds to help a developer demolish four old buildings to clear the way. The $995,600 grant, which Gov. Ned Lamont announced in December, will pay a portion of the demolition and remediation costs for the former Electrix Illumination architectural lighting property at Liberty, Putnam and Spring streets. The developer, 10 Liberty Street Owners LLC, received City Plan Commission approval in 2022 to build a five-story apartment building at 10 Liberty St. It will have 150 units available to people who earn up to 80 percent of the area median income. Cortell, of Maplewood, N.J., said he expects the remediation and demolition covered by the grant to take about six months. Actual new construction is likely to begin in the spring of 2025 and take two years to complete.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/affordable-apartments-new-haven-liberty-street-18641475.php

The Connecticut Airport Authority has confirmed that a sinkhole formed at the perimeter of Bradley International Airport in December. In a statement provided to CT Insider, CAA spokesperson Brian Spyros said that the sinkhole had been “temporarily filled and stabilized.” According to agency officials, the sinkhole formed around Dec. 4. The 20-by-20 foot sinkhole grew to a depth of 35 feet, large enough to swallow a car or small truck. The sinkhole was caused by a failed underground storm pipe, agency officials said. The CAA had increased Bradley International’s capital improvement funds by up to $10 million while the agency looks into alternate sources of funding. The CAA will look for federal and other funding sources to cover repair costs. In September, the Windsor Locks airport got approval for $99.27 million in federal funds for construction projects. Of that, $76.14 million was for a new inline baggage screening building, $17.96 million for a vertical circulation project and $278,643 for a taxiway extension project.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/ct-bradley-international-airport-sinkhole-18641700.php

Workers, family members and elected officials honor the six workers who died in an explosion in 2010, according to Connecticut AFL-CIO Health & Safety Committee. The Connecticut AFL-CIO Health & Safety Committee will celebrate the lives of the six workers who died in the Kleen Energy explosion 14 years ago at 11 a.m. Sunday Feb. 4. The event will be held at the permanent memorial outside the Kleen Energy plant in Middletown, according to the union. The Kleen Energy power plant exploded in Middletown on Feb. 7, 2010, at 11:17 a.m. The initial blast killed five workers and injured dozens more, the union noted. One additional worker later died from his injuries. Some of the families of the deceased workers will attend the ceremony. The memorial service this year “will be a celebration of the lives of those we lost. Family members and fellow union members will tell stories about the six deceased workers,” according to the union.

Union to honor workers who died in an explosion at a CT job site