Addressing the public’s needs
Last month, I was elected to a third term on the Public Service Commission representing PSC District 5, the North Louisiana seat. I thank all those who voted for me or otherwise supported my candidacy.
When I announced for re-election, I said I would run on my record. Since my first election to the PSC in 2002, I have personally held more than 160 town meetings throughout the 24 parishes of PSC District 5. I also authored a rule in 2003 providing that as many as four full PSC meetings per year may be held outside Baton Rouge, making it easier for the public to participate in our activities.
Since that rule was adopted, the commission has met in North Louisiana 11 times, most recently in May in Bossier City.
To help address domestic violence, I passed a rule requiring utilities to waive deposits for battered women. Now women in difficult straits may move to a new home without paying hundreds of dollars to open their own electric, gas, telephone and other utility accounts.
I also authored a rule requiring utilities to maintain electric and gas service during extreme weather. The rule gives consumers extra time to pay their bills when the weather drops below freezing in winter or exceeds a heat index of 105 degrees in summer.
Shortly after I took office in 2003 the PSC was the subject of a highly critical performance audit by the legislative auditor. Commissioners and senior PSC staff were accepting free meals from the regulated utilities as often as three times a week, and taking gifts and trips paid for by the electric, gas and telephone companies.
The audit questioned the commission’s independence from the regulated utilities.
After a hard fight, I persuaded a majority of commissioners to no longer accept free meals and gifts. I also passed a ban on family members of commissioners and senior PSC staff accepting jobs from utilities. These are the toughest ethics standards in state politics.
Members of the PSC face constant pressure from utilities to raise rates. In recent years, I have argued that utility bills should come down due to the low interest rates charged to utilities when they borrow money. This is a prime factor in setting utility rate of return, or profit level, and rate of return factors heavily in our utility bills.
So I was pleased to see the commission reduce Entergy’s rate of return to 9.9 percent in a recent rate case. Entergy operates two electric companies regulated by the PSC and provides power to nearly one million Louisiana households, and this was a significant achievement for the commission.
I have goals for my next term, including reform of the inmate telephone industry, improved railroadcrossing safety and settling our longstanding debate over solar power. SWEPCO outages questioned The PSC will investigate SWEPCO to determine if the company is having too many outages. PSC members last month unanimously supported my proposal to conduct an independent review of SWEPCO’s ability to maintain service during all types of conditions.
In my view, we are having too many outages too often, even in calm weather. I want to know what we must do to keep the lights on.
I have supported SWEPCO’s requests for additional tree-trimming to keep the power lines free of obstructions, but this may not be enough. The company and the commission owe it to the people to make our electrical system as durable as it can be. FCC questions commissions paid to jails by phone firms One of my goals for my next term is to complete the PSC’s reform of the inmate telephone industry. The PSC cut rates for calls from jail by 25 percent in December 2012 and banned all added fees, but the fee ban was rolled back four months later.
During an 18-month investigation, our staff found inmate families pay an average of 30 times more per minute to speak to their loved ones behind bars than we do on the outside, not including outrageous fees added to bills such as $10 to buy $50 worth of talk time and $10 to get a refund.
We also found inmate telephone providers pay steep commissions to jails to obtain contracts for handling these calls. We learned, for example, that the Louisiana Department of Corrections collects a 70percent commission on calls from Angola State Penitentiary and other state prisons.
These commissions are a primary reason that calls from jail are so expensive. That is why a proposal by the Federal Communications Commission to ban such commissions made news last month. It comes on the heels of a recent FCC decision lowering the cost of inmate calls that cross state lines. Interstate calls are regulated by the FCC, while the Louisiana PSC sets the rates for calls that begin and end in Louisiana.
Foster Campbell is the North Louisiana representative on the Louisiana Public Service Commission. You can reach him at 676-7464 or foster. campbell@la.gov.
