letters to the editor:

PUC shouldn’t be an elected body

Thu, Feb 11, 2016 (2 a.m.)

In the Jan. 26 letter to the Sun, “PUC goes against residents’ wishes,” the author suggests it would be a good idea to replace the three Public Utilities Commission members with elected officials. There are several reasons this is a poor idea.

First, the deplorable situation rooftop solar customers find themselves in is the direct result of legislation passed in 2015 by the elected members of the Legislature and signed by the elected governor. Every member of the Legislature save one — Maggie Carlton, D-District 14 — voted for SB 374.

Second, every utility commission understands its role is to balance the needs of the utility company and its customers. No one likes to pay utility bills, and electing officials based on their campaign promises to lower utility bills is a bad idea, both for consumers and the company.

Third, utility regulation is a highly specialized activity. It requires years of experience either in the industry or in litigation. Allowing people who might be popular politically but lack experience in utility regulation to oversee utility operations is courting disaster. If you don’t like the current commissioners, don’t vote for the man who put them there.

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