3/6 UPDATE: A floor amendment to SB 8 passed the Senate that preserves the right of organizations to intervene on behalf of residential ratepayers! SB 8 (committee substitute) as amended by SFA1, passed the Senate and moves to the House.

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Senate Bill 8 expands the membership and introduces additional criteria for selection of Commissioners for the Public Service Commission (PSC).

In recent years, public interest organizations have worked collaboratively as “Joint Intervenors,” represented pro bono by the Kentucky Resources Council, participating as one party in PSC proceedings. Their advocacy has focused primarily on the needs and concerns of residential and small commercial ratepayers, particularly customers with low- and fixed-incomes. The PSC has recognized our collective value in these cases, finding our groups offer “decades of experience in addressing the needs of Kentucky’s low-income residential customers” and recently noting that “Joint Intervenors raise legitimate concerns the Commission shares” regarding executive compensation being paid for by ratepayers.

We were gravely concerned with Section 2 of the original and committee substitute of Senate Bill 8, which silenced the voices of consumer and low-income residential customer advocacy organizations in PSC proceedings by designating the Attorney General as the sole representative of residential consumers. It selectively and unfairly targeted our groups for exclusion in PSC cases, yet would have allowed continued intervention by large commercial companies and big box stores, major cities, trade associations, and organizations representing industrial concerns. New standards for intervention are unnecessary, as the PSC allows intervention only where it will assist Commissioners and not delay or complicate the proceedings, and since all intervenors must accept the procedural schedule set by the PSC, whose decisions on cases are subject to statutory time limits.

Senate Floor Amendment 1 to SB 8 replaces the problematic text in Section 2 with new language that is largely a restatement of the existing standard for intervention found in the PSC regulations. We do not view the amendment’s additional provisions as an obstacle to intervention by consumer advocates and other interested parties. With the adoption of the Senate Floor Amendment 1, our concerns regarding Section 2 of Senate Bill 8 are resolved, and we appreciate the sponsor, Senator Smith, hearing and responding to our concerns.

Concerning the other provisions of Senate Bill 8, we believe that the addition of two new Commissioners to be appropriate given the significant workload of the PSC. While the delegation of appointment authority to the Auditor may raise constitutional questions, and the language of Section 3 is of concern to the extent that it removes PSC and public oversight for transmission line extensions, we support the efforts to recognize the critical importance of an independent, fully staffed, Public Service Commission comprised of appointees of varied training and experience. Historically, the General Assembly provided authorization language to help ensure the Public Service Commission had the staff needed to manage its caseload. We have therefore encouraged legislators to assure that this biennial budget includes the necessary authorization for positions to meet Commission’s staffing and resource needs.

At a time when the energy landscape is in great flux and the costs of basic utility services are ever-increasing, the interests of residential and other ratepayers deserve the utmost of attention and consideration by a fully-funded, independent Commission.