MACRUC: State Commissions Responding to Pandemic, Protests
State utility commissioners must bring the “same sense of urgency” to communications that they have for grid modernization, in the wake of COVID-19, District of Columbia Public Service Commission Chairman Willie Phillips said Monday on a Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Utilities Commissioners webinar ahead of MACRUC’s June 22-24 virtual meeting. “We all woke up during COVID-19 and we realized there are so many institutions” including communications “that are essential that we have taken for granted,” Phillips said. A state, local and federal plan is needed, said the D.C. PSC chairman: “It has to be a priority on every level.” MACRUC members shared how their agencies adapted to the new normal, including through virtual meetings and electronic filings. Working from home probably will continue at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission after the pandemic, said Chairman Gladys Brown Dutrieuille. The PUC launched a work-from-home pilot for some staff in January; COVID-19 forced the state commission to widely adopt the policy two months later. “I don't know that you can put that genie back in the bottle,” she said. Only 17 of 500 Pennsylvania PUC employees are unable work from home, due to the nature of their jobs, she said. Iowa Utilities Board’s Nick Wagner noted, “We’ve all learned a little about IT.” Protests about racial justice are also affecting state commissions, MACRUC members said. “It has opened a lot of eyes across the country,” said New Jersey Board of Public Utilities member Joe Fiordaliso. Brown Dutrieuille noted the PUC will continue its work to encourage more supplier diversity. Phillips said, "What I've been trying to do mostly is just listen.”