utility regulation

CPUC reform proposal increases transparency and avoids drag

29 June 2016 by Steve Blum
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The long list of reforms planned for the California Public Utilities Commission by governor Jerry Brown and a trio of lawmakers will make proceedings more transparent and open to public participation, and appears to moderate some of the procedural sand that current proposals would throw into the gears. Well meaning sand, but sand nonetheless.

The package announced on Monday rolls in bills that Bay Area senators Jerry Hill and Mark Leno have already put on the table.… More

Confirmed: bill to scrap CPUC is scrapped instead

28 June 2016 by Steve Blum
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The puzzle pieces are starting to move, as a plan announced yesterday to reorganise utility regulation in California takes shape. Assembly constitutional amendment 11 was taken off the senate’s energy, utilities and communications committee’s agenda yesterday, and a second hearing, by the senate’s elections and constitutional amendments committee, was cancelled this morning.

ACA 11 would have put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot, asking voters whether they want to end the special, and largely independent, status granted to the California Public Utilities Commission.… More

Governor, legislators agree on sweeping CPUC reform package

28 June 2016 by Steve Blum
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A plan for a major overhaul of the California Public Utilities Commission was announced yesterday by governor Jerry Brown and three legislators – Bay Area senators Mark Leno and Jerry Hill, and LA assemblyman Mike Gatto – who have been pushing for significant changes, even to the point of getting rid of it altogether (h/t to Regina Costa at TURN for the heads up).

The first item on the long list is to get the CPUC out of the business of policing some transportation services, most notably ride sharing companies like Uber and Lyft, but also certain bus companies and other land and water conveyances.… More

CPUC needs a smart and aggressive cat


Telling it like it is.

Mark Ferron, a commissioner on the California Public Utilities Commission, recently – and abruptly – announced he was resigning. What had been a very private battle with prostate cancer took a turn for the worse, and he stepped down in order to focus his energy on his health and family. His resignation message is worth reading for his insight on prostate cancer alone. But Ferron also leaves his fellow commissioners with some pointed advice on winning the – also heretofore private – struggle he sees to maintain relevance.… More