Who decides how much electricity we will pay and where we can get it? Men of mostly White and political connections

Few officials have more influence on how states move away from fossil fuels. This is especially true for public utility commissioners.

These boards are rarely scrutinized by the same level as other offices or agencies.

Jared Heern is determined to change this.

Heern, postdoctoral researcher at Brown University for Environment and Society and a research associate at Brown University, has recently compiled data on more than 800 public utility commissioners in the United States who served between 2000 and 2020. The results of the study are published in a brand new study in Energy Research and Social Science.

Heern stated that “PUCs play a crucial role in the decarbonization process, especially with the Inflation Reduction Act passed and the money allocated for it.” Climate change is making it more important to pay more attention to them.

Utility commissions are responsible for setting rates, regulating investments in transmission and generation equipment, and enforcing renewable energy regulations.

Heern’s research found that in 41 states, public utility commissions were appointed by the governors; elsewhere, they were elected. Heern says that the role of governors in selecting who sits on public utility commissions is often overlooked during election season.

He said that we should evaluate governors based on the kind of PUC they will appoint.

Heern sees this as a positive. The next most common background was being an elected official or a member of a governor’s network. Heern noted that a quarter of the commissioners had experience in the fossil fuel or utility industries, which could affect their policy preferences to favor those interests.

Only 19% of all commissioners had environmental backgrounds. This proportion, however, has grown faster than all others, from 12% in the year 2000 to 29% by 2020.

Heern stated that the surprise was pleasant. There seems to be more emphasis on the appointment of commissioners who have connections with renewable energy or environmental non-profits.

Lacking diversity

Another study revealed that the public utility commissions still lack a diverse range of life experience and a clear understanding of their impact on low-income communities and environmental justice communities. The Chisholm Legacy Project is a Maryland-based non-profit that supports Black communities who are seeking to advance environmental injustice. This report captures the gender and race breakdown of all 197 commissioners in the United States as of August 20, 2022.

In six states the commissioners are all men. Eighty-two per cent were White, and 24 states had no representatives of color. Idaho, Maine and Mississippi all had white male commissioners.

Only 11% were Black. 3% Hispanic, 3% Asian and 1% Native American.

The report stated that “this makeup does not represent the racial variety of the US in general,” with 19% of Americans identifying themselves as Hispanic/Latino and 14% as Black.

In the South, which is one of the most diverse regions in the United States, the lack of representational government is most evident. The report stated that Mississippi, Louisiana, and Georgia had the highest percentages of Blacks in the nation, but the least diversity on their public utility boards, which are all elected.

Charles Hua, Harvard researcher and co-author of the study, said: “That is not an accident. It’s a whole layering of segregation and voter suppression and other factors.” Jacqui Paterson, founder and executive director at Chisholm, also agreed. “But these four states have the highest energy burdens of all the U.S. “The regulators could have done something, but have let the utilities run with their proposals which exacerbated these problems.”

Patterson said that her organization will begin to provide information about commissioners who are running for office, so that voters in communities on the frontlines can make informed decisions.

She said, “They will want to be sure to look up this office before they vote. We, as advocates, are going to make it easier for them to find that information.”

New engagement strategies

Another report, released earlier this year by Brown University Climate and Development Lab, explored how New England states could advance an equitable transition to energy. Based on a series workshops held in the region, the findings include a list actions utility commissions can implement to engage a wider group of stakeholders.

Among the recommendations are improving communication with the general public, being proactive in reaching out to stakeholders and making it easier to the public participate in proceedings.

Oliver Tully is the director of utility innovation for Acadia Center. He said that these proceedings could be “very technical and opaque.” It can be difficult for groups with limited resources to take part in proceedings that are filled with jargon and data.

The Climate Lab report highlights a utility commission, the Connecticut Public Utility Regulatory Authority (PURA), that has made it a priority to be more accessible. Since her appointment as chair in 2019, Marissa Gillett made it her mission for the authority to be more transparent and visible.

Gillett explained that the project began as a way to ‘brand PURA’. It didn’t have a strong identity among legislators, media, or other stakeholders beyond the utility stakeholders with whom we normally interact.

Gillett began to build her brand with what she calls a “PURA 101 Roadshow”. She travels throughout the state delivering forty-minute presentations – about four dozen so far – explaining the PURA mission, how rates are determined, and how consumers can engage with the commission.

She said, “I will give the presentation to anyone who shows up – two people or two dozen.”

The authority has also developed its social media channels. This includes posting tutorial videos to YouTube that explain, for example how to navigate the docket online system or what an individual decision means.

Gillett, still not satisfied with public comments on important cases, decided more recently to introduce a quarter newsletter that highlights major decisions in plain English and alerts recipients to future case they may want to comment on.

During the last legislative session, the authority supported a new program of compensation for stakeholders that was included in SB7, an important energy regulation reform legislation. The program will launch in 2024 and provide financial assistance to groups of stakeholder who represent low-income residents, communities that are committed to environmental justice, or small businesses in a PURA hearing.

The groups are eligible for up to $100,000 for each stakeholder group and up to $400,000 for all groups of stakeholder per proceeding.

Gillett stated that “for some proceedings you need an expert witness or attorney, and it is the idea to empower groups to bridge this gap.”

Gillett believes that in the future, states will need to invest much more to adapt to climate changes. Consumers will want to know how the money is being spent and by whom.

She said, “There is a lot more urgency and attention.” “Consumers are becoming more aware of how much they spend on electricity.” “Commissions who haven’t figured out they will be more in the spotlight, are going to get caught off-guard.”