loading . . . CT utilities keep former regulator in sights after PURA shakeup **CT Mirror’s independent, nonprofit journalism depends on reader support.
Create more of it with a tax-deductible donation today.**
Donate Now
Support trusted local news with a donation today.
Give now for a chance to get your gift **_MATCHED_**.
Yes, I’ll give!
Around 30 activists in neon pink T-shirts gathered around Gov. Ned Lamont’s office on Monday afternoon, singing “This Little Light of Mine,” to protest his support for new methane gas construction in Connecticut.
The protest was organized by a new coalition calling themselves Don’t Destroy Our Future, a group organized for the sake of this protest by members of climate justice groups including Sunrise Movement Connecticut, Third Act and Interreligious Eco-Justice Network.
Activists called for Lamont to deny permits for new projects expanding natural gas usage in Connecticut. They argued that these buildouts contradict the state’s goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, a target Lamont signed into law earlier this year.
“Gov. Lamont has been clear that he wants to bring new energy resources into New England to increase our energy supply and lower costs for ratepayers,” said Rob Blanchard, a spokesperson for Lamont’s office. “We look forward to continuing the conversation with regional partners on how we can best achieve this goal, while protecting the state’s investment in renewable energy.”
Nine of the activists entered Lamont’s office and explained their demands to a Lamont staffer, who nodded and said he would pass their concerns along. In a planned political arrest, those nine activists then refused to leave the office and were peacefully escorted out by Capitol Police.
## Keep reading for free!
CT Mirror stories are never behind a paywall. But we still rely on contributions from individuals to report stories like the one you're reading right now. Help us do the work.
**If you believe in a free press, can you start a $15/month recurring donation today?**
**New gifts are MATCHED 2X until December 31!**
They were charged with obstruction of free passage, a misdemeanor, and released, according to Lt. Greg Wimble of the Capitol Police.
A group of activists from Don’t Destroy Our Future walks towards Gov. Ned Lamont’s office to stage a sit-in to protest his administration’s approval of a gas pipeline expansion project in western Connecticut on on November 17, 2025. Credit: Shahrzad Rasekh / CT Mirror
Claudia Allen, a 79 year-old Thompson resident, said she felt a generational responsibility to be arrested for the first time in her life, because she doesn’t have the same career considerations as young people.
“I really feel that my generation has to make the right decisions in order for [the younger] generation to have a livable future,” she said. “It’s really all about the young people for me.”
Most of the protesters were around her age. Two of the arrested protesters walked with canes, and one had been arrested protesting the Vietnam War.
## More STORIES IN Energy/ENvironment
### CT utilities keep former regulator in sights after PURA shakeup
### Top PURA attorney accuses colleagues of defamation, threatens lawsuit
## More STORIES in Politics
### Today, the curtain goes up on Ned Lamont’s bid for a third term
### Housing bill gets final approval from CT Senate in special session
Kate Donnelly, a former first selectman of Hampton, said she saw Lamont’s approval of natural gas projects as incompatible with his support for climate goals.
“When Gov. Lamont ran for office, he made a lot of promises about addressing climate, and he hasn’t kept them,” she said. “We’re here to say, Gov. Lamont, we need to secure our future for the planet and our children and future generations, and we want him to address these issues.”
Diane Keefe, an activist from Don’t Destroy Our Future, communicates concerns about a gas pipeline expansion project to a staffer of Gov. Ned Lamont on November 17, 2025. Credit: Shahrzad Rasekh / CT Mirror
Lamont, a Democrat, has long expressed an openness to natural gas as a means of keeping energy prices in check while reducing emissions from older, dirtier forms of power such as oil and coal.
In July, his administration gave tentative approval to a plan to expand the capacity of the existing Iroquois Pipeline by building a series of compressors capable of pumping an additional 125 million cubic feet of gas each day through the pipeline. The decision angered both environmental activists as well as local residents in Brookfield — the town where the compressors will be built — who have raised concerns about the pipeline’s proximity to a nearby middle school.
The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has yet to issue a final permit for the Iroquois project, which is scheduled for an informational public hearing in January.
A spokesperson for the Iroquois Pipeline did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
During his state of the state address in January, Lamont urged lawmakers not to “rule out natural gas” as a way of addressing the state’s spiking energy costs, despite concerns about methane and other greenhouse gas emissions.
Connecticut, like most of its New England counterparts, relies on natural gas to produce the majority of its electricity. In addition, more than a third of the state’s homes are heated with natural gas during the winter.
“We bring in very inexpensive natural gas from Pennsylvania, but that pipeline is at capacity,” he said. “And we bring in [liquid natural gas] by foreign ships, which is more polluting and more expensive.”
Critics of natural gas, however, argue that the commodity is subject to volatile price swings that could undermine promises of long-term savings.
“His embrace of more gas is really unfortunate,” said Peter Millman, the director of People’s Action for Clean Energy, an environmental group. “I think that he and his advisors are underestimating what the future cost of gas prices will be.”
Millman was not in attendance at Monday’s protest.
The Lamont administration has also drawn criticism over a plan to invest $42 million in a new gas heating system to power a network of pipes that deliver heating and cooling to more than a dozen buildings in downtown Hartford, known as the Capitol Area System.
Advocates had pushed for lower-emission — and costlier — alternatives that would replace the aging gas-powered system with either all-electric boilers or an underground geothermal system.
**Meet the moment.**
Across the country, trust in news is eroding. Powerful figures are challenging stories they don’t like with legal threats. Local newsrooms are shrinking or closing. As that happens, misinformation, government corruption, political polarization, and even the cost of government all go up. And voter turnout, civic engagement, knowledge of candidates and government accountability all go down.
As trust in national news organizations plummets, trust in CT Mirror continues to remain high. As newsrooms face pressure to pull their punches, CT Mirror operates fiercely independently. As local newsrooms wither, CT Mirror continues to grow.
**CT Mirror is a local journalism success story.**
All without a subscription fee or paywall. That’s because fair, accurate, unbiased news should be available to everyone, not just those who can afford it.
So where does CT Mirror’s funding come from? It comes from a community of readers who understand that journalism strengthens our state.
**There’s more work to do. As major disruptions take place in Connecticut, CT Mirror tells you what’s happening and why. The more investigative reporting we do, the more we see a need to do more investigative reporting.**
Holding government accountable will always require tough questions, in-depth research, and painstaking reporting.
**If you agree, can you start a $15/month recurring donation today?**
Thank you. https://ctmirror.org/2025/11/12/eversource-united-illuminating-marissa-gillett-lawsuit-bias/
