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Utility veteran tapped for key PSD position
By DARREN M. ALLEN Vermont Press Bureau Jonathan Lesser of
Williston, a senior managing economist in the O’Brien ousted Steinhurst
on June 13, citing a need for a new approach to electric energy regulation. “Jonathan is someone well
known in the industry. He’s well published, and he brings a fresh
perspective,” O’Brien said Wednesday. “I have comfort with him and his
approach.” That approach, he said, will
mean focusing less on the state’s decade-long energy conservation efforts and
more on reducing “Over the last 10 years or
so, the focus has been on how to lower the overall bill, on how to reduce
demand, and conserve energy,” O’Brien said. “We have not focused enough on
unit costs. And I think it is fair to question the effectiveness of a policy
that puts us at a competitive disadvantage.” High utility rates — “I do not have a dramatic
agenda in mind,” he said. “But we do need a sense of balance. If we are so
noncompetitive, we can’t blame it all on the utilities.” O’Brien said the state
needs to take a “hard look” at deregulating electric utilities while
searching for “ways to attack the high unit cost” of electricity in “The utilities are not
always the enemies,” O’Brien added. “We have a multi-layered relationship
with utilities and, yes, sometimes we have to work together.” Lesser, who begins July 14
and is expected to earn $85,000 a year, holds a doctorate and master’s degree
in economics from the University of Washington. He served as a regulator in the
now-defunct Washington State Energy Office, and he has been an economist for the
Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee and the Idaho Power Corp. Before joining Navigant —
a firm that offers regulatory consulting services to energy companies — Lesser
was a senior economist for Green Mountain Power, the second-largest of He could not be reached
Wednesday for comment. His clients at Navigant have
included Entergy Nuclear, owner of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. Lesser
testified for Entergy in Public Service Board hearings two weeks ago on whether
the plant should be allowed to boost its power output. O’Brien said Lesser would
not be involved in the department’s handling of the Vermont Yankee case. He
said he did not believe Lesser would have to avoid any other matters before the
department and board, including those involving Green Mountain Power. In his Vermont Yankee
testimony, Lesser said boosting Vermont Yankee’s power output by 110 megawatts
from its current 510 megawatts would benefit GMP spokeswoman Dorothy
Schnure said the company would have no comment on Lesser’s appointment. Steinhurst held the post for
17 years, and often tussled with the state’s electric utilities before the
Public Service Board. He was a key utility adversary in board decisions barring
Central Vermont Public Service Corp. and Green Mountain Power from passing on
the full costs associated with long-term power contracts with Hydro-Quebec. Indeed, the department’s
traditional role is to represent His firing earlier this
month sparked the ire of Senate President Pro Tem Peter Welch, D-Windsor, who
reluctantly supported O’Brien’s confirmation as commissioner and last week
questioned whether that support was misplaced. “A number of senators,
myself included, had concerns about your appointment due to your inexperience in
utility regulation,” Welch told O’Brien in a June 26 letter. “When the
Legislature reconvenes, the Senate Finance Committee will have a great interest
in hearing from you as to the ‘differences in philosophy and overall desire
for new thinking’ that led you to fire one of The concern was echoed by
one of the state’s chief environmental lawyers. “It’s just another
indication that the O’Brien said Wednesday
that changes accompanying the first new administration in over a decade would be
tough for some to take. But he insisted that the ways of the past have not
pulled “Someone show me we’re
doing the right thing, and we’ll continue,” he said. “But I know for a
fact we’re not as competitive as we should be.” The Associated Press
contributed to this report. Contact Darren Allen at
darren.allen@timesargus.com |