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FAIRFIELD COUNTY

BUSINESS JOURNAL YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS | westfaironline.com

November 18, 2013 | VOL. 49, No. 46

THE GAS ALTERNATIVE

FCBJ this week GaZInG aheaD The state assesses its books now and through 2018 … 5

STATE EXPLORES LESSER-OIL OPTION

runnInG man An architect from Greenwich runs as few do … 9

BY JENNIFER BISSELL jbissell@westfairinc.com

P

wise permitting. “I was married here,” she said. “This place has a lot of class.” And, sure enough, the crowd poured in, a full house of 130. The agenda was titled “Being the CEO of Your Life.” Bankwell President and CEO Peyton R. Patterson, keynote speaker, offered her own trajectory as a template in a candid, highly personal address. Parrelli Gray said the success of last fall’s inaugural women’s lunch led to the second and to another and another after that. The

lans to expand the state’s natural gas network by 280,000 customers in 10 years were approved Nov. 6 by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. Natural gas is typically 50 percent to 75 percent cheaper than petroleum-based sources, according to state reports, but just over a third of the state’s residents have access to it. By building up the infrastructure for natural gas, state officials hope to decrease ener�y costs and reliance on dirtier ener�y sources. In a draft PURA ruling, customers who have natural gas available on their streets, but are not yet connected, will be the prime targets for the program. However, the initial setup costs can be expensive. Both Southern Connecticut Gas Co. and Yankee Gas Co. expect capital budgets to more than double over the 10-year plan. Some reports even estimate the project to cost as much as $7 billion, split between the gas companies and customers. So far PURA officials have denied requests for additional financial incentives. They’ve also tried to reduce the up-front costs for customers to connect to gas lines by allowing companies to charge a “premium” over current rates for 10 years. For customers “on main,” for instance, the premium would increase the total bill by less than 10 percent, still making it cheaper than oil-based ener�y. “Off main” commercial customers would

» W cubed, page 6

» Gas, page 7

JobS report The Business Journal’s monthly parsing of regional job numbers … 10

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truSt me Andi Gray addresses a pillar of business relationships … 17

CubeD MEDIA PARTNER

Lisa parrelli gray, president and executive director, Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce.

WESTPORT, WESTON AND WOMEN EMBRACE CEO MINDSET BY BILL FALLON bfallon@westfairinc.com

the Weather turneD from threatening to downright miserable just as the WestportWeston Chamber of Commerce opened the doors for its second annual Working Women’s Luncheon recently at Westport’s The Inn at Longshore. Chamber President and Executive Director Lisa Parrelli Gray perhaps had more cause for optimism than the rain was other-

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NICE DIGS The storied Delamar in Greenwich has given itself a new look

NEWS NOON @

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