Committee reports David Arcanti Jr. favorably for Public Utilities Regulatory Authority after Q&A on rate cases and agency structure

The Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee voted Thursday to report favorably on the nomination of David Arcanti Jr. of Brookfield to be a commissioner of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) after a public hearing in which Arcanti reviewed his background and answered lawmakers' questions about active rate cases, agency procedure and ethics.

Arcanti, who told the committee he has served in an interim capacity at PURA since Aug. 5, described his regulatory approach in opening remarks: "I am honored to be nominated to serve as commissioner at the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority," and said "effective regulators are decisive, independent, and respectful." He told committee members the agency's central duty is to set rates "sufficient, but no more than sufficient" to allow utilities to cover prudent operating and capital costs.

The hearing centered on Arcanti's record during roughly six months at PURA and on policy matters the agency is handling. Arcanti said PURA currently has two active rate proceedings involving Yankee Gas Company and United Illuminating, and he has participated in multiple hearings in the performance-based ratemaking (PBR) docket. He told the committee that PURA staff had issued an initial straw proposal and a second staff straw proposal that will lead to further technical hearings and an expected final decision timeline he said would conclude in August in that docket.

Committee members pressed Arcanti on several topics: how votes and final decisions are handled at PURA, the commission's relationship with utilities, conflict-of-interest safeguards and the agency's enforcement and consumer-outreach unit.

On voting, Arcanti said a quorum is required for final decisions: "We me, myself, myself, chair Gillette, commissioner Karen, all participate in those meetings, and we have to have a quorum to vote," and added that during his tenure the full panel has voted on final decisions. In response to a committee question about statutory authority, a committee member cited "16-2" as the statutory provision requiring agreement by a panel; Arcanti concurred with the committee's explanation that final decisions are made by a panel vote rather than unilaterally.

On agency structure and enforcement, Arcanti described the Office of Education, Outreach and Enforcement as separate from the commissioners' side of PURA: "They are walled off, so to speak, from our side of PURA and the commissioners," he said, explaining that the office can open investigations independently and would file petitions with the commission if it sought a docket.

Members also asked about Arcanti's private-sector experience. He said he worked for FuelCell Energy and Avangrid (recorded in testimony as "OutRunGrid/Avon Grid/Avangrid" in different exchanges) and that those roles gave him perspective on the capital and workforce needs of distributed-energy companies and on utility field operations. On questions of potential conflicts of interest from his recent private-sector employment, Arcanti said he consults regularly with the agency's general counsel and legal team about recusal when appropriate.

Lawmakers raised broader policy issues during questioning, including the PBR docket's trajectory, the state's approach to resource adequacy and the earlier "Take Back Our Grid" legislation. Arcanti said legislators and stakeholders should examine regional market design (ISO New England) as a complement to state policy, and he framed many supply-side and market questions as matters that require regional coordination.

The committee then moved to its business meeting. Representative Godfrey made a motion to report the nomination favorably; Senator Fonfara seconded. The clerk called the roll and committee members recorded their votes by roll call; the motion passed and the committee recessed with votes held open until 3:30 p.m. (committee staff recorded individual yea votes during roll call and remote participation, as reflected in the hearing record). The committee announced the next meeting date (noted in the hearing record as an upcoming meeting on March 18) and adjourned the public hearing portion before convening the committee meeting.

Arcanti accepted questions during the hearing and reiterated a commitment to working with stakeholders: "We have a lot of difficult and complicated work ahead of us, and I look forward to working with all stakeholders for the betterment of our state."