Either the PSC is worthless or Hood is usurping authority

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October 7, 2008

By Sid Salter The Meridian Star Tue Oct 07, 2008, 11:39 PM CDT

One thing that Attorney General Jim Hood knows full well is that all of us - this writer included - are frustrated and angry over the financial burdens of high energy costs.

The arrival of the electricity bill each month at our home is a monthly instance of "shock and awe" as my wife and I shake our heads and wonder aloud just how high that bill can go. Of course, we said that when it reached the $500 per month mark and that figure is rapidly increasing.

In response to soaring energy costs, Hood filed suit asking a Hinds County chancery judge to force Entergy Mississippi to reveal how it buys fuel and electricity. He contends that Entergy buys fuel and power from other Entergy subsidiaries at a higher price than it could on the open market, then passes those costs along to consumers.

But Entergy is fighting Hood's state court demand for their records in the federal courts, saying that its fuel pricing is "audited by a number of regulatory agencies" including the state Public Service Commission. In their federal court filings, Entergy called Hood's investigation "a fishing expedition, commanding the production and delivery of great volumes of documents and information, relevant or irrelevant, in the hope that something will turn up, evading regular administrative jurisdictions, processes and protections."

In his state lawsuit, Hood cites cases in Louisiana and Texas in which Entergy subsidiaries were accused of deceptive pricing schemes and overcharging customers. Hood has said Entergy refunded $72 million over similar allegations in Louisiana in 2000 and was ordered to repay $34 million to New Orleans customers in February.

But Entergy counters in their federal court filings that seven Entergy "operating companies, are the parties to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission-regulated rate schedule that provides the basis for the integrated planning, construction and operation of the electrical generating and bulk transmission (and other) facilities" and that FERC "has exclusive administrative and regulatory jurisdiction over the transmission and sale of electrical energy in interstate commerce."

The state and federal legal systems will ultimately decide the validity of all those charges and countercharges. But one point seems clear.

Just as the public shouldn't be gouged or overcharged on public utility rates, the public also shouldn't be forced to pay for a dual system of state utility regulation.

The state PSC is composed of three elected commissioners, one from each of the state Supreme Court districts to serve four year terms. The PSC's responsibilities are defined broadly as "to ensure that rates and charges for service are just and reasonable, that the approved rate schedules are adhered to, that the service rendered is reasonably adequate, and that the facilities constructed or acquired are required for the convenience and necessity of the public."

Specifically, the PSC's staff is also charged with examining and auditing the financial records of public utilities and conducting "audits of electric and gas companies and purchased fuel and gas adjustments."

So it would seem that either the existing PSC is worthless and failing miserably in doing their jobs - which would indicate that the PSC should be abolished and the regulatory powers it has turned over to the Attorney General's office - or that the PSC is already performing the investigations that Hood's trying to launch and that the attorney general is usurping the legitimate powers of the PSC.

The three elected commissioners who are drawing a public paycheck to regulate Entergy's activities and verify rates and fuel adjustments should either thank Hood and resign - or get back to us on whether Entergy's rates and fuel adjustments have already been investigated, vetted and approved.

Contact Sid Salter at (601) 961-7084 or e-mail ssalter@clarionledger.com. Visit his blog at http://www.clarionledger.com.

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