Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Public Utilities Regulatory Authority

Biographies

Thomas Wiehl - Interim Chairman
David Arconti - Vice Chairman
Michael Caron - Commissioner
Janice Beecher - Interim Commissioner
Holly Cheeseman - Interim Commissioner
 

 

 


Thomas Wiehl - Interim Chairman

Thomas Wiehl is the Interim Chairman of the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA). Governor Ned Lamont nominated Wiehl to begin serving in October of 2025. Prior to joining PURA, Wiehl served as the Legal and Regulatory Director for the Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel (OCC), the independent state agency responsible for advocating on behalf of consumers for quality, reliable utility services at the lowest possible rates. As Legal and Regulatory Director, he was responsible for overseeing all legal and technical staff and managing the agency’s engagement in regulatory proceedings and appellate activity. Immediately prior to that, he was OCC’s Director of Utility Oversight and Regulatory Reform from 2023 to 2024, and an OCC Staff Attorney from 2020 to 2023.

Prior to joining the OCC, Wiehl worked as Vice President of Administration and General Counsel for Consumers Petroleum of Connecticut, a company based in Milford that distributed gasoline, diesel, and other petroleum products throughout Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. He also was previously a public defender in Massachusetts, providing representation for indigent parents and children.

Wiehl earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont; a Master of Fine Arts degree from California College of the Arts in San Francisco, California, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law. He has been admitted to the bars of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.  He lives in Madison with his wife, two sons, and a variety of pets.

 

 

David Arconti - Vice Chairman

David Arconti is the Vice Chairman of the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA).  Governor Ned Lamont nominated Arconti to begin serving in August of 2024. His appointment was confirmed by both the House of Representatives and State Senate in the 2025 session of the Connecticut General Assembly. Arconti represented Danbury’s 109th district in the State House of Representatives from January 2013 to January 2023.  During his tenure as a State Representative, he served in a number of leadership roles, including Vice Chair of the General Law Committee, Vice Chair of Environment Committee, Deputy Majority Leader and House Co-Chair of the Energy and Technology Committee. Arconti also served on the Public Health, Housing, Veterans and Military Affairs and Public Safety and Security committees. Arconti introduced and lead the passage of the Take Back Our Grid Act, Public Act 20-05, directing the Authority to initiate proceedings on performance-based regulation for utility companies.
 
Arconti also comes to the Authority with experience in the utility sector, focusing on fuel cells, government relations, and community engagement.  
 
Arconti holds a Bachelor of Science from Southern Connecticut State University and has been an active member of his community serving on the board of the Danbury Police Activity League (PAL), the Meserve Memorial Fund, and the Danbury Athletics Hall of Fame.

 

Michael CaronMichael Caron - Commissioner

Michael Caron is a Utility Commissioner of the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA). Governor Dannel P. Malloy nominated Caron to serve on July 12, 2012. His appointment was confirmed by both the House of Representatives and State Senate in the 2013 session of the Connecticut General Assembly.
 
Commissioner Caron is the Authority's former designee to the Connecticut Siting Council and is PURA's representative to the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC). He also serves as Treasurer of the New England Council of Public Utility Commissioners (NECPUC) and is a member of the Electricity Committee for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and was appointed last year to the NARUC Telecommunications Task Force by past President Commissioner Lisa Edgar (FL).
 
He has also been appointed through DEEP as one of Connecticut's representatives on the Eastern Interconnection States' Planning Council (EISPC).
 
Prior to his appointment, Caron was the Director of Public Affairs – Global Sites for Pfizer, Inc. and an associate lobbyist for the lobbying and business development firm Camilliere, Cloud & Kennedy.
 
Caron previously served as a State Representative from the 44th District for nine terms (1991-2009) and Assistant Republican Leader for five terms (1999-2009). During his time as a member of the General Assembly, Caron served on the Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee, as Ranking Member of a number of legislative committees including the Transportation Bonding Sub-Committee. He was a member of the Energy and Technology Committee and was an ex officio member of the Connecticut State Bond Commission.
 
Caron introduced and worked for passage of the Fuel Cell Energy Tax credit and the High Performance Building legislation for state bonding projects.
 
Caron also headed Caron Strategy and Consulting, a public policy firm and worked in the financial services industry as Registered Investment Advisor.
 
Caron has been active with several community organizations, including: the Southeastern CT Enterprise Region Board of Directors and the Community Health Charities of New England where he served as Chairman of the Board. Additionally, he has served as the Vice-Chair of the United Mental Health Services Board of Directors and the Chair of the Northeast Economic Alliance Board of Directors.
 
Caron received his B.A. in History and a B.S. in Finance from Central Connecticut State University. He lives in West Hartford with his wife Maureen. 

 

Janice Beecher - Interim Commissioner

Janice Beecher is an Interim Utility Commissioner of the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. She is a Professor Emeritus (Political Science) and Director Emeritus (Institute of Public Utilities) at Michigan State University. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the peer-reviewed journal Utilities Policy (Elsevier) and a member of the International Advisory Board of Energy Policy (Elsevier). She served on the U.S. EPA’s Environmental Finance Advisory Board and Michigan's 21st Century Infrastructure Commission. She previously held staff positions at the Illinois Commerce Commission, The Ohio State University, and Indiana University, and has advised federal, state, and local governments on regulatory policy.

Dr. Beecher is a recognized expert with four decades of experience in applied research, continuing education, and practice in the economic regulation of public utilities. She is a frequent author, lecturer, and participant in academic and professional forums. Her interests include regulatory principles and practices; incentives and accountability for utility performance; infrastructure funding, financing, and governance; rate design and utility affordability; and the structure, economics, and regulation of the water sector.

 
She holds a B.A. in Political Science, Economics, and History from Elmhurst College and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Northwestern University and resides with her husband in New Britain.

 

Holly Cheeseman - Interim Commissioner

Holly Cheeseman is an Interim Utility Commissioner of the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. From 2015 to 2023, Cheeseman served as executive director of the Niantic Children’s Museum (formerly the Children’s Museum of Southeastern Connecticut), where she was responsible for overseeing all financial, organizational, and operational management and oversight for the museum. Prior to that, she served from 1990 to 2012 as executive director of LVA Corporate Communications, an international public relations firm with clients in the computer and biotech sectors.

Cheeseman has held several public offices, including as state representative for the 37th Assembly District of East Lyme, Montville, and Salem from 2016 to 2024, during which she served for eight years on the Energy and Technology Committee and was the ranking member of the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee.

She has also served on the East Lyme Board of Selectmen, the East Lyme Board of Assessment Appeals, and on the board of seCTer, a nonprofit economic development organization for the southeastern Connecticut region.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Holly is a resident of Niantic. She and her husband enjoy travel, and she loves spending time with her children, grandchildren and two Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, Callie and Sunny.