(Photo from MS PSC on Facebook)
- In February, the Mississippi PSC began to revamp how rate cases are presented to Commissioners in an effort to add a consumer voice.
There has long been talk of adding a dedicated consumer advocate to represent ratepayers at the Mississippi Public Service Commission (PSC) in an attempt to counterbalance the voice of the utilities. Now, it appears the three-man elected Commission is taking steps to that end.
The Mississippi Public Service Commission is a quasi-judicial body established to promulgate regulations for public utilities while also ruling on rate cases concerning those utilities. Those rate decisions directly impact how much consumers in the Magnolia State pay each month.
“The process that we inherited really didn’t have somebody that was solely focused on the ratepayer or the consumer,” Northern District Commissioner Chris Brown (R) told Magnolia Tribune.
He said the way the system has worked, the utilities would present their data and make their case to the Public Utilities Staff. The two entities would then work together to find an agreement.
“So, the Public Utilities Staff is tasked with representing the utilities and the consumer. The utilities are only representing the utility, so there’s nobody really solely advocating for the ratepayer,” Brown said.
He said the three Commissioners saw that as a problem, as consumers did not have a sole voice looking out for their interests.
In February, the PSC began to revamp how such cases are presented to Commissioners in an effort to add that consumer voice.
“So, if a filing is contentious and it’s the utilities versus the consumer, the Public Utilities Staff works with both to make sure all of the data is correct that they can,” Brown said. “Then on docket day, you have utilities representing themselves and some advocacy for the consumer, the ratepayer.”
This is a marked change in how the PSC views their role, as previous calls for a consumer advocate were largely dismissed. Commissioners have traditionally viewed themselves as a form of consumer advocate having been elected to the office by the people. However, as Brown notes, Commissioners are to fairly adjudicate cases for all involved.
“Our goal is to make sure there is a group or somebody assigned to wholly represent the ratepayer because we can’t because we’re quasi-judicial,” Brown said, adding that the Commissioner are only “supposed to call balls and strikes.”
Brown, who serves the Commission’s Chairman, noted that the PSC is working with the Attorney General’s office to make the consumer advocate role a reality.
MaryAsa Lee, communications director for Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R), told Magnolia Tribune Monday that their office is pleased to work with the PSC and with other state partners to protect consumers “through increased transparency and awareness activities.”
“Empowering Mississippi consumers to be well-informed self-advocates is an important part of any strong consumer protection program,” Lee said.
While Brown said the specifics on how this will work are still being discussed, the expectation is for there to be a counterbalance to the utilities who asks the hard questions on behalf of the consumer. Then, Commissioners would consider the facts and make a decision.
“So, if the data comes in and you trust the data, then you make a determination based on those facts,” he explained. “It’s an effort for us to make the Public Service Commission be a little more transparent, not that it wasn’t, but so the ratepayer will have their voices heard and have somebody that they can trust on the data.”
Frank Corder
