Sunset panel votes on changes to the PUC and OPUC

Journal Article · · Texas Energy Reporter; (United States)

OSTI ID:6533656

On October 1, the Sunset Advisory Commission (the Commission) signed off on the review of the Public Utility Commission (PUC) and the Office of Public Utility Counsel (OPUC). Forty-five recommendations concerning electric utilities were made during the course of the review, by either the Sunset Commission staff or interested parties. The Commission, after about three hours of rapid decisionmaking, ended up adopting 23 of the recommendations, letting 19 of them expire through no action, and failing three. The most sweeping change approved by the Commission was to the structure of the PUC. As amended by Sen. Carl Parker, the proposed change include: transferring the PUC hearings division to the new State Office of Administrative Hearings; Eliminating the role of the general counsel as a party to rate cases; Transferring resources made available from the elimination of the general counsel's role to the OPUC, as determined by the legislative appropriations process; Directing the OPUC to participate in all proceedings at the PUC affecting residential and small business consumers. Other recommendations concerning administration of the PUC adopted by the Commission include: Tightening conflict-of-interest provisions by prohibiting commissioners from serving on boards of companies that supply fuel, services, or products to utilities; Removing the PUC from the process for adjusting the gross receipts assessment used to fund the both the PUC and the OPUC, and leaving any adjustment up to the Legislature; Broadening the PUC's authority to assess administrative penalties of up to $5,000 a day to enforce its statute, rules, requirements and orders; Making 10-year management audits of utilities permissive, rather than mandatory. The rest of the recommendations considered by the Sunset Commission concerned specific programs or aspects of programs within the PUC.

• OSTI ID: 6533656
• Journal Information: Texas Energy Reporter; (United States), Journal Name: Texas Energy Reporter; (United States) Vol. 10:1; ISSN TEREEY; ISSN 0739-8250
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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