Community News
Open dialogue among community members is an important part of successful advocacy. Take Action California believes that the more information and discussion we have about what's important to us, the more empowered we all are to make change.
Gov. Jerry Brown named a former adviser on Tuesday to be the next head of California's troubled utilities commission, replacing a regulatory chief accused of back-channel dealings with utilities.
Michael Picker, a former adviser to Brown on renewable energy and a former board member of a California utility, was Brown's pick to lead the California Public Utilities Commission, the governor's office said in a statement.
The appointment requires state lawmakers' approval.
Picker would replace Michael Peevey
as commission president. Peevey announced in October he would not seek reappointment when his term expires at the end of December, after 12 years on the board.
Emails made public this year by Pacific Gas & Electric Co., California's largest power utility, described Peevey and PG&E officials holding repeated private discussions on rate cases, penalties and other PG&E regulatory matters before the commission, as well as Peevey soliciting donations from the utility for a commission celebration and for a political campaign backed by the governor. Peevey has made no public comment on the conversations contained in the emails.
The email disclosures stemmed from federal investigations and public criticism over a 2010 PG&E pipeline blast that killed eight people in a San Francisco suburb. The National Transportation Safety Board said lax oversight by the state utilities commission was one reason for the disaster.
Federal prosecutors have indicted PG&E for alleged obstruction of justice in that investigation. PG&E says federal and state prosecutors have since informed the utility that they are also examining private communications between state utility regulators and PG&E.
Mark Toney, head of The Utility Reform Network, a public-advocacy group that has been critical of the CPUC and PG&E, said he welcomed Picker's nomination as the board's leader.
"We expect that he's going to stop the backroom deals and start making the decisions based on actual evidence," Toney said.
A Brown aide, Evan Westrup, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Brown's expectations of board transparency under Picker. Brown has publicly defended Peevey, describing him this summer as a man who gets things done.
In a separate interview with The Associated Press this summer, Brown described the emails as "troubling."
Brown noted then that state and federal prosecutors were looking into the communications, and added, "I can tell you, based on my own experience, there are conversations that go on in all these regulatory bodies. It's different than courts. There are rules on it and the rules should be enforced."
Brown first appointed Picker as a commission member earlier this year. Brown on Tuesday also appointed Liane Randolph, a staffer at the state Natural Resources Agency, to the commission.
via: http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/12/23/48869/brown-picks-aide-to-lead-troubled-california-utili/
Oppose
AB 1407 and the
Attack
On Low Income Californians
On
behalf of Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement (COPE), we urge
our local and state partners to join us in opposing Assembly Bill
1407. We believe that low-income consumers deserve the right to be
protected through regulatory process to ensure affordability of utilities
programs (Lifeline programs) that help them meet their basic living needs.
See below for information about AB 1407
THIS
IS A TIME SENSITIVE ISSUE AND WE NEED YOUR URGENT SUPPORT.
Sample
Email: As a concerned California, I strongly urge you to oppose AB
1407. We believe that low-income consumers deserve the right to be
protected through regulatory process to ensure affordability of utilities
programs (Lifeline programs) that help them meet their basic living needs.
Low-income consumers want and deserve affordability, accountability
from carriers, and protections as consumers. We need your help is
stopping the attack on low-income Californians.
(click
on the Senator's name to email)
Why
Assembly Bill 1407 harms low-income Californians:
Assembly
Bill 1407 eliminates key minimum standards for low-income affordability,
consumer protection, and carrier accountability.
1)
Eliminates Low-Income Affordability.
- A fixed discount voucher
guarantees that monthly bills will be unpredictable and potentially
significantly higher than current bills.
- LifeLine customers would no
longer be exempted from paying state and local surcharges and taxes,
resulting in an automatic rate increase from this bill.
2)
Eliminates Consumer Protections.
- Carriers would no longer be
required to offer customer service staffing and contracts in the same
languages in which they conduct marketing and sales campaigns
targeting non-English speaking communities.
- Low-income customers would
lose their right to stand-alone LifeLine service (instead of being
offered only expensive bundles), as well as protections against
deposits or extended contracts that carry early termination
fees.
3)
Eliminates Carrier Accountability.
- The CPUC would no longer be
able to deny LifeLine participation to carriers such as TracFone who
refuse to abide by requirements that they collect and pay into the
Universal Service Fund that subsidies LifeLine discounts.
- VOIP carriers would be able
to collect LifeLine subsidies without complying with CPUC regulation
due to provisions of SB 1161 that eliminated most CPUC authority over
VOIP providers.
AB
1407 transfers authority from the state of California to the federal
government and private industry one of the largest low-income telephone
programs in the country worth millions of ratepayer dollars annually and
impacting 1.5 million low-income California families. The authority to
define minimum standards for low-income affordability, service quality,
packages, and carrier participation will shift from the CPUC, which has the
responsibility to serve the changing needs of Californians.
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COPE
600 North Arrowhead
San Bernardino, California 92401
909-915-1716
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