[2] Trained as an attorney, he first rose from general counsel to president and chief executive of Central Hudson Gas and Electric before ascending to the top of Northeast, Connecticut's largest public utility, a position he held from 1970 to 1983.
He chaired the "Sillin Report",[1] a 1986 analysis of the nuclear power industry, in which he chided some utility companies for simply meeting rather than exceeding regulatory requirements.
[2] At the time he took charge of Northeast, the New England region's electricity prices were higher than the national average, and Sillin viewed nuclear power as the least expensive, most efficient, and cleanest energy option.
A number of factors, including resetting expectations by downsizing company growth predictions and annual return projections, a more amicable relationship with regulators, improved operating margins, and the third "Millstone" plant coming online, all contributed to the turnaround.
"[1] Shortly into his role at the top of Northeast Utilities Sillin was granted the honor of delivering the 1970 installment of the prestigious Charles P. Steinmetz Memorial Lecture at Union College.
In a 1986 analysis on the nuclear power industry called the "Sillin Report," he chided utilities that simply met regulatory requirements "instead of striving for excellence.