Lelan F. Sillin Jr. (April 19, 1918 – January 3, 1997) was a pioneer in the
nuclear power industry
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
, an advocate of nuclear safety, and chairman and chief executive of
Northeast Utilities
Eversource Energy is a publicly traded, Fortune 500 energy company headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, and Boston, Massachusetts, with several regulated subsidiaries offering retail electricity, natural gas service and water service to appro ...
.
[ An early proponent of ]nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
, he was nevertheless critical of some nuclear operators who failed to strive for excellence in their work.["Leland F. Sillen Jr., Northeast Utilities chief, dies at 78", ''New York Times'']
/ref> 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 public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...
, a position he held from 1970 to 1983. He chaired the "Sillin Report",["Retired NU chief praised", ''Hartford Courant'']
/ref> a 1986 analysis of the nuclear power industry, in which he chided some utility companies for simply meeting rather than exceeding regulatory requirements.[
]
Biography
Lelan Sillin was born in Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
, on April 19, 1918. He graduated from the University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1940 and graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1942. During World War II he served in the United States Marine Corps in the South Pacific until 1945. He started his business career as a corporate attorney with the New York law firm of Gould & Wilkie, where he was general counsel for Central Hudson Gas and Electric in Poughkeepsie, New York
Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...
. He later rose to become Central Hudson's president, and its chief executive in 1964. Forsaking law, he remained in the utilities industry, joining Northeast Utilities
Eversource Energy is a publicly traded, Fortune 500 energy company headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, and Boston, Massachusetts, with several regulated subsidiaries offering retail electricity, natural gas service and water service to appro ...
, a utility holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
, as president in 1968. Two years later he was named chairman and chief executive.[
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.][Northeast Utilities Company History at Funding Universe]
/ref> Skyrocketing petroleum prices due to 1970s energy crises just reinforced this view. In addition to four "Yankee" nuclear plants already built by the individual firms that joined to become Northeast Utilities in 1966—"Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
", "Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
", "Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
", and "Rowe
Rowe may refer to:
Places
* Rowe, Massachusetts, U.S.
*Rowe, New Mexico, U.S.
*Rowes Bay, Queensland, a suburb of Townsville Australia
*Rowe, now Rówek, Poland
Other
*Rowe (surname)
*Rowe (musician), solo project of Becky Louise Filip, former me ...
"—the firm added two "Millstone
Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones.
Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...
" plants to its generation capacity during that decade.[
Sillin's middle years with the company did not go easily. In addition to the Middle East oil embargoes of 1973 and ]1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
, escalating inflation, rising construction costs, annual tussles with the regulatory boards of the two most important states Northeast served - Connecticut and Massachusetts, and heavy borrowing, began eroding Northeast Utility's financial viability. Company fortunes did not begin to recover until Sillin recruited and hired his own replacement, William B. Ellis, and retired as chairman and chief executive in 1983. 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
Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones.
Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...
" plant coming online, all contributed to the turnaround.[
]
Legacy
Sillin was regarded by friend and foe "as frank and forthright and someone who held a genuine concern for the customers he served."[
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
The Charles Proteus Steinmetz Memorial Lecture is a series of academic lectures initiated in 1925 in honor of celebrated mathematician and electrical engineer Charles Proteus Steinmetz. To date seventy four addresses have been given on subjects r ...
at Union College
Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...
. Dr. Charles Proteus Steinmetz Memorial Lecture Series
/ref>
Although Sillin helped make Northeast Utilities the most nuclear-powered utility in the nation during his tenure, he saw himself as an energy pragmatist. In a 1979 interview he bristled: "I don't like being classed as a nuclear proponent. I'm a utility man. As soon as we find a better technology, we'll go with it."[
Sillin was an early advocate of nuclear power but criticized some nuclear operators for complacency. 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."][
]
Personal life
Sillin was married to Joan Outhwaite Sillin, with whom he had four sons, Lelan III of Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
; John, of Potomac, Maryland
Potomac () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, named after the nearby Potomac River. Potomac is the seventh most educated small town in America, based on percentage of residents with postsecondary deg ...
; Andrew, of New Paltz, New York
New Paltz () is an incorporated U.S. town in Ulster County, New York. The population was 14,003 at the 2010 U.S. Census. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county and is south of Kingston. New Paltz contains a village, also wit ...
, and William of Sunderland, Massachusetts
Sunderland is a town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The wo ...
.
Mr. Sillin was a trustee at Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...
in Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settler ...
, and served on the board of the Florence Griswold Museum
The Florence Griswold Museum is an Art Museum at 96 Lyme Street in Old Lyme, Connecticut centered on the home of Florence Griswold (1850–1937), which was the center of the Old Lyme Art Colony, a main nexus of American Impressionism. The Museum is ...
in Old Lyme
Old Lyme is a coastal town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The main street of the town, Lyme Street, is a historic district with several homes once owned by sea captains. Lyme Academy of Fine Arts is located in Old Lyme and ther ...
.[
He died in a traffic accident in Old Lyme at 78 on January 3, 1997.][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sillin, Lelan
1918 births
1997 deaths
People from Tampa, Florida
Businesspeople in nuclear power
American chief executives of energy companies
University of Michigan alumni
University of Michigan Law School alumni