Gov. Ned Lamont on Wednesday nominated Claire Coleman, currently the undersecretary for legal affairs at the state Office of Policy and Management, to serve as Connecticut’s consumer counsel.
The consumer counsel serves as an advocate for Connecticut consumers on issues relating to electricity, natural gas, telecommunications and water service, with authority to participate in a range of administrative and judicial forums on their behalf. The position comes with a five-year term.
“Claire’s expertise in energy law, investigations and regulatory reform makes her a great fit to effectively advocate for the interests of all customers of electricity, gas, water, telephone and cable services,” Lamont said in a statement. “Above all, I am confident that she will be a staunch advocate on behalf of Connecticut’s utility consumers and effectively represent their interests before regulators, courts and the legislature. At this critical time, when energy commodity prices are spiking globally due to the pandemic, we need a consumer counsel who will fight for affordable utility service for Connecticut residents and businesses.”
The governor also expressed his appreciation for Richard Sobolewski, who has served as acting consumer counsel for the past two years. He had replaced Elin Swanson Katz, who stepped down in 2019.
Coleman will begin serving in the new role on an interim basis beginning Dec. 3. Her nomination for permanent confirmation will be forwarded to the General Assembly for its consideration when the next regular legislative session begins in February.
Coleman has worked at OPM since 2019. She previously worked as an energy attorney at Save the Sound, as counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee and as a litigation associate at Wiggin and Dana LLP in New Haven and Sullivan and Cromwell LLP in New York.
