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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 7206
AN ACT CONCERNING PROCEEDINGS OF THE SITING COUNCIL
AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING CERTAIN UTILITY
EXPENDITURES.
SUMMARY
This bill makes various changes to the energy statutes, primarily
related to the Connecticut Siting Council. Among other things, it:
1. requires the Siting Council to grant party status to the consumer
counsel in Siting Council proceedings that the consumer counsel
determines may significantly impact electric rates (§§ 1 & 2);
2. requires applicants for a Siting Council certification to issue a
notice if they retain a lobbyist to influence the public or interested
parties about the application (§ 3);
3. expands the types of information that must be included in certain
applications to the council (§§ 4 & 5);
4. extends the prohibition on electric distribution company (EDC,
i.e. Eversource or United Illuminating) or gas company rate
recovery for certain advertising expenses to include Internet ads
(§ 6);
5. prohibits EDC rate recovery for the costs of promoting an
application before the Siting Council and preparing for a council
proceeding (§ 7);
6. requires the Siting Council to employ at least one employee who
is dedicated to (1) helping interested parties engage in council
proceedings and (2) preparing plain language summaries of
proceedings (§ 8); and
7. requires the consumer counsel’s staff to have expertise in certain 2025HB-07206-R000687-BA.DOCX
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specified areas, and expands the required uses of the systems
benefit charge on electric bills to cover funding the costs of Office
of Consumer Counsel (OCC) employees participating in Siting
Council proceedings that may significantly impact electric rates
(§§ 9 & 10).
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2025
§§ 1 & 2 — SITING COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS
The bill requires the Siting Council, upon the consumer counsel’s
request, to make the consumer counsel a party in certain Siting Council
proceedings that the consumer counsel determines may significantly
impact electric rates. More specifically, the requirement applies to the
Siting Council’s certification, amendment, or declaratory ruling
proceedings. The bill correspondingly authorizes the consumer counsel
to participate in these proceedings to the extent she deems necessary.
Under current law, when the council receives an application, it may
hire independent consultants to study and measure the consequences of
a proposed facility on the environment. The bill specifies that the
applicant must pay for these consultants. Existing law, unchanged by
the bill, already requires that the application fee be used to meet the
council’s expenses, including for these consultants, and also allows the
council to assess the applicant during the proceeding as needed to meet
its expenses (CGS § 16-50v).
§ 3 — NOTICE ABOUT LOBBYIS TS
The bill creates a notice requirement for when an applicant who
submits an initial application for a facility regulated by the Siting
Council retains a communicator lobbyist to influence the public or
interested parties about the application. It requires the applicant to
immediately send electronic notice about the retainer to:
1. the council;
2. the attorney general;
3. each state legislator whose district includes the proposed 2025HB-07206-R000687-BA.DOCX
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facility’s location, or an alternative location proposed in the
application; and
4. the chief elected official of any municipality that (a) includes a
portion of the proposed facility’s location, both as a primary or
alternative location, or (b) has a boundary within 2,500 feet from
the proposed facility.
Under the bill, a “communicator lobbyist” is a lobbyist who
communicates directly or solicits others to communicate with an official
or the official’s staff in the legislative or executive branch, or in a quasi-
public agency, to influence legislative or administrative action.
§§ 4 & 5 — ADDITIONAL INFORMATIO N ON CERTAIN
APPLICATIONS
Electric Transmission Lines, Fuel Transmission Facilities, and
Electric Substations or Switchyards (§ 4)
The law requires applications to the Siting Council for electric
transmission lines, certain fuel transmission facilities, or electric
substations or switchyards to include certain information, such as their
estimated costs, routing maps, and a description of their environmental
effect. The bill expands the information required in these applications to
include, for a proposed repair, upgrade, replacement, or enhancement,
detailed studies of alternative solutions to repairing existing electric
transmission lines, with consideration of at least one type of grid-
enhancing technology. It also requires these applications to include:
1. quarterly data for the preceding two years on the earned and
authorized return on equity of related projects subject to the
Siting Council’s jurisdiction;
2. an estimate of the proposed facility’s return on investment; and
3. an estimate of the proposed facility’s impact on regional network
service and local network service rates for EDCs, and
accompanying calculations, including any underlying
assumptions for the estimate. 2025HB-07206-R000687-BA.DOCX
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Electric Transmission Lines (§ 5)
The law requires applications to the Siting Council for electric
transmission lines to include additional information, which under
current law includes a detailed analysis of any non-transmission
alternatives to the proposed facility or modification. The bill further
specifies that this analysis must be (1) from an independent engineer the
Siting Council selects and (2) within 30 days after filing the application
(presumably, the analysis must be submitted within the 30 day period).
§ 6 — INTERNET ADVERTISING
The law generally prohibits the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority
(PURA) from considering a gas, electric distribution, or telephone
company’s political, institutional, or promotional advertising as part of
the company’s operating expenses when setting rates (in effect,
prohibiting these expenses from being recovered through the
company’s rates). The bill specifies that this includes Internet
advertising. Current law covers advertising on any media, such as
newspaper and all other forms of print, radio, and television.
§ 7 — RATE RECOVERY FOR SITING COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS
The bill prohibits EDCs from recovering through their rates any
direct or indirect costs associated with (1) promoting the company’s
application before the Siting Council, including costs for consulting,
data and analytics, franking, fundraising, market research, community
engagement, and Internet website development, or (2) preparing for a
Siting Council proceeding, including an appeal from a council
proceeding.
(This provision could conflict with legal standards for utility cost
recovery to the extent that it prohibits a company from recovering a cost
incurred prudently, efficiently, and economically; for a clear public need
and the public necessity and convenience; and due to a statutory
mandate (e.g., CGS §§ 16-19 & 16-19e).)
§§ 9 & 10 — CONSUMER COUNSEL STAFF AND S YSTEMS
BENEFIT CHARGE
The bill requires the Consumer Counsel’s staff to at least include a 2025HB-07206-R000687-BA.DOCX
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public utilities engineer, public utilities examiner, staff attorney, and
communications and outreach associate. It also allows the consumer
counsel to hire rate design engineers as consultants.
The bill requires that the OCC’s costs of hiring employees to enable it
to participate in Siting Council proceedings be paid for by electric
ratepayers through the systems benefit charge on electric bills. By law,
unchanged by the bill, each PURA-regulated utility company is assessed
an annual fee to pay for its share of PURA, OCC, and Department of
Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Energy and
Technology expenses, among others (CGS § 16-49).
BACKGROUND
Related Bills
SB 78 (File 95), reported favorably by the Environment Committee,
requires the Siting Council’s membership to include an elector from the
municipality where the proposed facility would be located, in addition
to the existing membership.
sHB 7017 (File 556), reported favorably by the Energy and
Technology Committee, requires EDCs and incumbent transmission
owners to submit project alternatives to the Siting Council when seeking
to construct or modify transmission lines, substations, and switchyards
that are subject to the council’s jurisdiction.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Government Administration and Elections Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 13 Nay 6 (03/26/2025)