Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Public Utilities Regulatory Authority

Electric and gas utilities have begun notifying residential customers with unpaid and/or past-due balances that if they do not take action and contact their utility to enroll in a payment plan, they are at risk of having their gas services terminated on Thursday, May 2, 2024. If your household has received a notification from your utility company, please contact them directly to set up a payment plan to keep your services on. These plans charge no interest, and all customers qualify at least once for one or more of these plans. After engaging with utility providers, customers may also contact PURA’s customer affairs unit for specific questions regarding payment arrangements. View eligibility, utility contact information

Employee Spotlight

 

Danielle Chaloux
Title: Research Analyst
Unit: Clean and Affordable Energy


What do you do at PURA?

I work on interesting questions! How can the state encourage a transition to clean energy, while simultaneously making energy more affordable for all residents? How can we ramp up electric vehicle adoption with the existing grid infrastructure? What obstacles can we remove to help ratepayers pay their bills?

As a Research Analyst in the Clean and Affordable Energy Unit, I’m part of a larger technical staff team that oversees renewable energy and affordability-related programs administered by the state’s regulated public utilities. In my day-to-day work, I spend a lot of time reading and responding to different parts of the docket process, which is how PURA communicates with the utilities. I’m also working on a data project to understand how customers are being impacted by energy affordability and how they are (or are not) successfully engaging in utility programs to receive energy assistance.

I’m still very new, so I also spend a lot of time learning about how utility regulation works. It’s like learning a new language!

What do you like most about your job?

Every day, I get to learn from a team of smart, committed, and encouraging folks. There are a lot of different backgrounds and perspectives represented among my colleagues, and I’ve been enjoying working with everyone tremendously.

What encouraged you to pursue a career in state service?

I was interested in state service as a way to contribute to meaningful problem solving. State and local government significantly influences the daily lives of citizens. The issues PURA handles directly impact ratepayers, and I wanted to be working on those issues to make life better for residents.

What would you tell someone who is interested in working for PURA?

It’s a lot like trying to drink from a firehose. There is so much information to learn and process, but it does start to make sense.

What do you like most about living in Connecticut?

As a kid growing up here, there’s a consensus around that moving away was preferred. I’ve been fortunate to see lots of different parts of the world, and I’ve come to see Connecticut as a little gem. There’s a little bit of everything: beaches, hiking, city life, museums, and good food.


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Hear more from our staff, including Will, an Associate Research Analyst, who supports state programs for solar energy, battery storage, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Visit the Job Openings site for a list of career opportunities at PURA