This Was Then…
Gov. Malloy & Jeff Butler
Photo by Steve Kotchko
Posted 11/21/11
Perhaps in an effort to short-circuit continuing criticism of the company’s performance in the snowstorm power outage crisis, Northeast Utilities (NU), the parent firm of CL&P, announced late last week that CL&P president Jeffrey Butler had resigned. The first hint of change came earlier when a battery of CL&P officials showed up for a legislative hearing on the outages, and Butler was a no-show.
NU CEO Charles Shivery said the firm “reluctantly accepted Jeff’s resignation,” adding: “We wish him all the best.” The somewhat terse statement gave rise to speculation Butler was pushed out, as a scapegoat, to ease the controversy facing CL&P and its parent firm. State Sen. John Fonfara (D-Hartford) told the Connecticut Radio Network he’d spoken to Butler just days before the resignation, and asked Butler if he was up to the challenge of handling the aftermath of the outage mess “and he felt very strongly that he could and looked forward to it.”
A day after the NU announcement, Butler released a short statement saying he would not comment in detail on his decision to leave CL&P, but said that he knew the company faced a vital review process and that he “did not want my presence to be a distraction to that effort.” Butler then asked the media to “please respect my and my family’s privacy as we all move forward.”
Official Reaction to Butler’s exit was uniformly polite, and focused more on what needs to be done about CL&P and its ability to tackle outages in future storms, some of which could come quickly as winter approaches.
State Senate Minority Leader John McKinney (R-Fairfield) said the people “want to know that CL&P and state agencies have learned from this experience and that a sustained power outage of this magnitude won’t happen again.”
State House Speaker Chris Donovan (D-Meriden), now running for Congress, also pointed to the company: “CL&P was unprepared for this storm and failed to adequately respond to the needs of Connecticut’s residents and businesses. We need a better and more appropriate response in the future.”
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) called Butler’s resignation “the first step” in reform at CL&P that would help “remedy CL&P’s failed system and restore public trust.” He said that must include more crews sooner into the field when outages occur, and heightened preparation for storms.
Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy was en route back to Connecticut from a visit with Connecticut National Guard troops in Afghanistan when Butler’s resignation was announced, but a day later, Malloy took reporters questions on the exit.
“I did not personally suggest that Mr. Butler be replaced,” said the Governor. “I made it known however, that I was quite dissatisfied with the performance of the company (CL&P), and that I felt that changes needed to be made.”
Malloy sent very strong signals about his lack of trust in CL&P and Butler’s statements when he stopped his practice of holding joint press conferences with Butler during the crisis at the state’s emergency management center. The Governor and Butler appeared together, but Malloy made his own statement and took questions, then left before Butler took to the microphones. In the end, Malloy held a storm-related news conference outside his State Capitol office, leaving Butler to hold his press event alone back at the emergency management center.
It appears that Butler’s biggest public relations blunder, perhaps the one that cost him his job, occurred when the now departed CL&P president vowed that his company could restore power to 99% of its customers by midnight Sunday, Nov. 6th, more than a week after the outages began.
When he first made that prediction, Butler claimed he could bring in hundreds of out-of-state tree and line crews to boost CL&P’s personnel in the field. However, a few days later it was clear the hoped for totals would not materialize quickly, and many reporters covering the outage crisis figured Butler would recalculate and extend his prediction several days beyond Nov. 6th.
Instead, Butler stuck to the original estimate—doggedly, and it never changed, even though CL&P’s own outage estimate reports, town by town, continued to show very slow progress—even regression in some communities.
When the fateful weekend deadline approached, Malloy publicly stated he no longer believed CL&P was capable of getting the job done on time—by the estimate Butler himself crafted and clung to with determination. The missed deadline gave life to the feeling many held in state government, the media, and the public—that CL&P had no clue about how and when to get the job done.
Beyond Butler’s exit, NU made other personnel changes trying to show it is serious about preventing any future outage debacles. While a nationwide search for a new CL&P president and chief operating officer proceeds, James Muntz, the NU president for transmission will take on the duties.
In addition, NU created two new vice presidents posts. William Quinlan will serve as senior VP for “emergency preparedness” to button up CL&P’s readiness activities and install new protocols to allow the company “to partner effectively in any type of emergency” with cities and towns.
Dana Louth, an existing VP for asset strategy will become VP for CL&P “infrastructure hardening”, industry lingo for an official who will make the electric system “more resistant to weather-related events.” NU said this would include tree management, structural hardening, electrical hardening, and “undergrounding” of the electric system—when feasible.
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