Ellen Katz, energy and consumer advocate, testifies for Siting Council chair; committee moves nomination, vote left open

Ellen Katz, an attorney and former Connecticut consumer counsel, testified April 10 before the General Assembly's Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee in support of her nomination to chair the Connecticut Siting Council. Committee members moved the Senate resolution to advance her nomination; the committee said it would keep the formal roll call open until 4 p.m.

Katz told the committee she has served on the Siting Council since the previous fall and described experience that includes eight years as Connecticut's consumer counsel, work at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission building its Office of Public Participation, and roles with federal energy programs. She emphasized public education, transparency and efforts to make hearings accessible to the public.

Why it matters: The Siting Council reviews and approves energy infrastructure and certain telecommunications projects in Connecticut, including transmission lines, battery-storage facilities, solar on certain sites and large telecommunications towers. Decisions affect utility reliability, land use, local scenic values and municipal interests.

Katz described the Siting Council as an adjudicatory body empowered under state law to review energy and telecom infrastructure. She said council proceedings have ex parte rules and that members act as decision makers in administrative hearings. Katz emphasized remote hearings and written comments as ways to increase public participation, and said she would continue outreach to make the council's processes more accessible.

Committee questions and themes: Members asked Katz how the council balances statewide infrastructure needs (reliability, grid upgrades and clean-energy deployment) with local concerns such as scenic impacts, farmland loss and residents' objections. Katz said the council is guided by statute and must weigh public safety, reliability and affordability while considering community impacts, including scenic values and local land-use concerns.

Several members raised telecommunications and cell service issues, noting some towns now request towers to improve coverage while others oppose visual impacts. Katz said staff collect site plans, photos and descriptions; the council generally does not perform routine site visits but can request additional materials and, where necessary, staff will visit sites. She said the council has worked to accommodate legitimate local concerns through screening, relocation when feasible and conditions in approvals.

On solar and farmland: Committee members discussed the tension between siting solar projects on farmland and promoting alternative locations such as landfills, brownfields or agrivoltaics (dual-use agricultural approaches). Katz said the council and applicants have pursued approaches including grazing and other dual-use measures to reduce loss of productive land, and she said she would further explore options if confirmed.

On staffing and process: Katz noted the council is a small operation, with an executive director and a small staff (she cited a staff of nine), and said much of the council's work involves iterative review with applicants to meet statutory requirements; she described a low denial rate in part because applicants and staff work to address issues before final decisions.

Committee action and procedural notes: The committee moved Katz's Senate resolution to advance her nomination; Senator Berthel seconded. The committee conducted a roll call with some senators recording "yes" on the record; the chair said the vote would remain open until 4 p.m. and did not announce a final committee outcome at the hearing.

Quotes: "People do not trust what they don't understand and what they can't see," Katz told the committee. "I believe it's incumbent on me as a public servant to make sure that people are aware and understand what we're doing and how we make our decisions." Committee members praised her experience building public-participation programs at FERC and her work as Connecticut consumer counsel.

What was not decided: The committee advanced the nomination to roll call but left the vote open at the hearing; the hearing record shows multiple senators recorded "yes" votes and the committee planned to complete the tally later that day.

Next steps: The committee kept its roll call open until 4 p.m. on April 10; final committee disposition will be recorded in the General Assembly's official roll-call records.