Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Editorial: Lawmakers need independent advice
A commission on electric utilities should be free from industry influence.
From the RoundTable blog
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The group of lawmakers that oversees electric utilities in Virginia does not want to fade away on July 1.
Although the commonwealth's wild ride through deregulation is largely over, the Commission on Electric Utility Restructuring still has a valuable role to play in Richmond, just not in its current form.
These days, the commission's most important job is advisory. Members of the General Assembly generally listen to the commission because legislation dealing with utilities is often technical and can have consequences that aren't obvious to people not steeped in the field.
The law that created the commission sunsets this summer, but a bill in the Senate would extend its life to 2010 so that it can continue to advise.
Having a knowledgeable task force on hand to help with complex legislation makes sense, and the General Assembly should postpone the end of the commission -- with one important change.
Before lawmakers finalize the bill, they should replace the legislators who currently serve on the commission with independent experts.
During the last election cycle, six of the commission's 10 members each accepted more than $10,000 in campaign contributions and gifts from Dominion Virginia Power, the commonwealth's largest power utility. Both Democrats and Republicans on the commission received the cash.
Perhaps the members, against human nature, resist temptation. They might be able to receive large sums of cash and not show any favoritism. Even so, the perception persists that they are in the pocket of a big utility -- a perception strengthened when they supported a Dominion-favored re-regulation scheme.
Virginians now have good reason to worry about whether the 10 people who all but decide whether a utility bill advances have the public's or the industry's interest at heart.
Engineers, scientists and economists without industry ties could provide untainted opinions about proposed legislation.
Virginia relies on transparency when it comes to campaign finances. Transparency in the case of the electric regulation commission reveals a huge potential for conflict. Remove the big donations from oversight of a basic service in the modern world.
