Malloy's Energy And Environment Agency Up For Debate

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP/CBSNewYork) -- Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's proposal to create a new Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is up for its first public airing.

The new agency is supposed to centralize the coordination of state energy policy.

The Department of Public Utility Control, which regulates utilities, would become a bureau within the newly consolidated agency. And the Connecticut Siting Council, which handles the siting of power plants and other projects, would become part of that new bureau.

The legislature's Environment Committee has scheduled a public hearing Monday on a bill creating the new agency.

Malloy has already appointed Daniel Esty, a professor of energy law and policy and Yale University, as the new commissioner.

Malloy says the new agency will help the state focus on energy efficiency and cutting energy costs.

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)