AUGUSTA — The legislative committee that oversees energy and utility issues has approved Gov. Paul LePage’s nomination of Thomas Welch of Hancock to chair the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

The vote was 13-0.

Welch served as Maine’s PUC chair from 1993 to 2005. He helped create incentive regulation for Maine’s telephone utilities and was an architect of restructuring the state’s electric utility industry, often called deregulation.

He most recently has worked on energy issues at the Pierce Atwood law firm.

Welch was widely praised for his long and varied experience, his judicial temperament and his willingness to help educate lawmakers about complex utility issues.

If approved by the full Legislature, as expected, Welch said he was take his lead from lawmakers in carrying out policy directions. But he identified key issues that he considered important to the PUC, include lowering Maine’s energy costs, expanding natural gas lines and reviewing how money is spent on energy efficiency programs. He also pondered the state’s role in regulating telephone utilities during an era of growing wireless communications, and wondered whether the state needs to regulate local water districts.

Speakers who came to support Welch’s nomination included Peter Vigue, chairman and chief executive officer of Cianbro Corp., and representatives from the Industrial Energy Consumer Group, Conservation Law Foundation. No one spoke in opposition.

During questioning from the committee, Welch was asked what he might have done differently as past chairman. Welch said he was suprised that a competitive market for small electric customers never developed after restructuring in 2000, and that the public hasn’t been willing to pay a slight premium for green power.

He also defended the outcome of restructuring, which he noted has brought electricity rates in Maine closer to the national average.

Welch also sought to clarify public perceptions about past energy decisions that took place during his previous service. To critics of the sale of Maine’s hydroelectric dams during restructuring, Welch noted that Maine ratepayers received the full value of the deal, $750 million, which paid down costs from more expensive power plants.

“I think it was a good deal for Maine,” he said.

Rep. Mark Dion asked Welch’s opinion of system benefits charges to promote efficiency. These charges are small levies on electricity and natural gas bills to pay for conservation programs, and some advocates want to extend them to heating oil.

Welch said he couldn’t offer an opinion about whether to continue or expand these charges; that’s a political decision, he said.

“It’s a tax,” he acknowledged.

But if kept in place, the benefits should be targeted narrowly, in ways that help the state the most, he said. That makes more sense than spreading around rebates to people who would take conservation measures without subsidies.

 

Copy the Story Link