State Legislators Turn Their Sights on CL&P

Did you hear the one about...?

Candle, Light & Propane. Connecticut, Light & Plunder. The wisecracks switched on almost as soon as the lights went out.

And while CL&P is getting laughed at in some quarters, many legislators are sick of the joke. Instead, they want a special session to tackle the aftermath of October's unseasonable winter storm. Many are using the success of the jobs special session to make their point.

“The special legislative session on Oct. 26 demonstrated that General Assembly members from both sides of the aisle could work together quickly to produce a bipartisan jobs bill. There is no reason that we can’t move just as quickly to improve emergency response, something that affects everyone,” said state Rep. Gail Lavielle, a Republican representing Wilton and Norwalk.

“The alternative is further extreme inconvenience and increasing health and safety risks for our state’s residents, as well as significant loss of revenue for many small businesses," she added.

Many lawmakers say it's a bipartisan issue. Among their suggestions for legislation: requiring utilities to train and maintain emergency stand-by crews comprised of first responder personnel and retired utility workers.

Other ideas include requiring mutual aid agreements to specify strict timelines with other utilities and states and increasing the use of fuel cells in Connecticut to provide more electricity that is "off the grid."

Some legislators also want to see benchmarks for power restoration and fines on utilities that fail to meet restoration goals.

“I think the past two months of power outages have taught us a number of lessons and given us the opportunity to discuss the reliability of our power,” said state Rep. Kim Fawcett a Democrat representing Fairfield and Westport. “Certainly, how we maintain our trees in a proactive way can help, but also beginning the process and planning of burying power lines along some corridors could be helpful.”

Hear, hear says state Rep. John Shaban, a Republican representing Easton, Weston, and Redding.

“Members of this legislature proved through the recent bipartisan jobs package that they can work together in quick fashion, and given that winter is right around the corner this is an issue we must tackle right away,” said Shaban in an email.

Meanwhile state Rep. Fred Camillo, a Republican representing Greenwich, plans to host a  on Monday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. at the . The pros and cons of underground utility lines will be addressed.

The 2012 session doesn’t officially begin until February. And while the October session saw the passage of jobs related legislation, there are risks to holding extra sessions. They usually attract more attention, and scheduling them signals the issue couldn't wait until the regular session, pushing expectations higher.

A pattern?

Though some may be hoping for a reprieve from campaign coverage, a few state lawmakers are already sifting through the implications of last week's election for 2012.

“Through Mike [Tetreau] and Cristin [Vahey]'s campaign we talked personally to a lot of voters this election season," Rep. Fawcett said. "We heard loud and clear that people still care deeply about jobs and the economy and in particular they want our governments at all levels to get their act together and stop over spending."

“That being said, people of all political backgrounds are rejecting the unreasonableness of Republican national politics. People see through the games and question the true intent. I think the Republicans tide has peaked — could be good news for 2012?” she added.

In Weston, Democrat First Selectman Gayle Weinstein , and in Fairfield, Democrat Michael Tetreau 

But elsewhere in Fairfield County, the GOP held onto key seats: Norwalk Mayor Richard Moccia , Peter Tesei  in Greenwich, Jayme Stevenson , and New Canaan Treasurer V. Donald Hersam .