State Regulatory Relations
New PUC Commissioners Named
Oklahoma Corporation Commission
Commissioner Jim Roth was appointed by Governor Brad Henry to fill the commission seat left open by the resignation of Denise Bode. He took office on June 1, 2007.
A native of Prairie Village, Kan., Commissioner Roth has been a resident of Oklahoma County since 1991. He was elected Oklahoma County Commissioner, District One, in 2002, and officially took office on January 2, 2003. Previously, Commissioner Roth served in county government for eight years as a chief deputy and attorney to a former District One administration and the Oklahoma County Clerk.
Commissioner Roth graduated from Kansas State University in 1991 with a B.A. in political science/pre-law and Oklahoma City University School of Law in 1994 with a J.D. He is also a certified mediator, volunteering for the Office of Handicap Concerns. Commissioner Roth holds graduate certificates from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government for local government executives and the Air War College’s (Maxwell AFB) National Security Forum. He is a member of the Oklahoma, Kansas and American Bar Associations and is a past president of the National Association of Civil County Attorneys. He is also involved in Rotary Club 29, Choctaw Kiwanis, the Chambers of Commerce for Midwest City, Choctaw and the Capitol area, the AIDS Support Program, Mayflower Congregational Church, the Greater OKC United Way and Allied Arts, among others.
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
Governor Edward G. Rendell recently announced the nomination of Ty Christy to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
Christy, who has more than 20 years of professional experience in the energy industry, currently is vice president of Americas Power Partners/Armstrong Services in Butler. He also is a board member of the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, a position to which he was appointed by Governor Rendell in 2004. He also serves as treasurer of the PEDA board.
From 1985 to 1988, Christy served as vice chairman of the PUC’s Independent Power Committee, where he helped to implement cogeneration and waste-to-energy projects.
Governor Rendell also nominated Commissioner Kim Pizzingrilli to serve a second term on the PUC. Commissioner Pizzingrilli, a former Secretary of the Commonwealth, joined the PUC in 2002.
Both nominations are subject to confirmation by the Pennsylvania Senate.
Arkansas PSC Adopts Affiliate Rules
The Arkansas Public Service Commission has adopted comprehensive affiliate transaction rules applicable to all jurisdictional rate-regulated public utilities. In The Matter Of The Adoption Of Affiliate Transaction Rules, 2007 Ark. PUC LEXIS 213. The rules set forth detailed guidelines governing the pricing of goods and services; the participation in intra-holding company financial arrangements, including the use of cash management programs and money pools; and the investment in non-utility businesses.
Service Line Protection Plan Upheld
The Supreme Court of Connecticut affirmed a lower court ruling dismissing claims that a water company had engaged in unfair competition by utilizing its monopoly status to promote a water/wastewater service line protection plan. A-Right Plumbing, Sewer And Water Main Company, LLC v. Aquarion Operating Services Company, 2007 Conn. LEXIS 212. The court held that the plaintiff, an independent plumbing contractor, had failed to allege that the defendant had engaged in any deceptive acts or practices and, as a result, there was no basis for finding that the defendant had violated Connecticut’s Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Court Upholds PUC Decision on Jurisdiction
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld a decision of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission in which the PUC declined to adjudicate a dispute regarding the testing of backflow prevention devices. Polites v. Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, 2007 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 310. The complainant, the operator of a commercial warehouse, contended that he should be permitted to assume personal liability for the maintenance and annual testing of the device at his premises and not be forced to retain the services of a certified tester. The PUC determined, and the court agreed, that the reasonableness of a utility’s testing requirement fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection.
|
