Marissa Gillett, who resigned last month as chairman of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority amid a flurry of legal challenges, has joined the American Economic Liberties Project as a senior fellow.
The Washington, D.C.-based organization, which advocates against monopolies and concentrated corporate power, recently added Gillett’s biography and title to its website.
The move places the former regulator at an organization dedicated to challenging monopolistic practices — a shift from her previous role overseeing Connecticut’s investor-owned utilities, which operate as legal monopolies under state regulation.
Gillett served as PURA chairman from April 2019 through October 2025, a tenure marked by increased regulatory oversight of companies including Eversource and United Illuminating.
Gillett announced her resignation in September, amid multiple lawsuits from utilities alleging she wielded unilateral control over the authority and violated state law by appointing herself as presiding officer over cases without approval from fellow commissioners.
When Gillett resigned, the American Economic Liberties Project issued a statement calling her departure a victory for “Wall Street-run monopoly utilities” following what it described as a “multi-year bullying campaign.”
“Connecticut consumers are about to pay a big price for the rampant corruption that has undermined the public interest,” Pat Garofalo, the organization’s director of state and local policy, said in the statement. He called Gillett “one of the only regulators in the country who has actually lowered rates for Americans.”
During her tenure at PURA, Gillett launched the Equitable Modern Grid initiative and pursued a transition to performance-based regulation designed to enhance utility accountability. Supporters said her aggressive stance held utilities accountable and put ratepayers first at a time when Connecticut’s energy costs remain among the highest in the nation.
However, her final months were consumed by legal battles. Utilities accused Gillett of anti-utility bias and sought access to her communications, including text messages that were automatically deleted after 30 days on her personal phone, according to CT Mirror.
PURA later conceded that Gillett’s practice of appointing herself as presiding officer violated state law.
Prior to PURA, Gillett served as vice president of external relations for the Energy Storage Association and worked at the Maryland Public Service Commission, where she advised the chairman on topics including offshore wind procurement and grid reliability.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in bioengineering from Clemson University and a law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law.
The American Economic Liberties Project describes its mission as working to “challenge monopolies’ dominance over markets and society” through aggressive antitrust enforcement, anti-corruption measures and corporate accountability.
