by Keryn

As many of you know, one of the actions on our agenda here at the Coalition has been the replacement of WV Public Service Commissioner Jon McKinney after his term expired on June 30, 2011.  Governor Tomblin has failed to act on our requests to appoint Robert Rodecker as Commissioner on July 1, and McKinney remains in the position after his term has expired.

Now, Clean Air Watch reports that Commissioner McKinney is sponsoring a Resolution at the NARUC (National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners) summer meeting this week that urges Congress to stomp on the EPA and delay implementation of clean air rules, and is pushing his fellow commissioners to adopt it.

McKinney's resolution does sound suspiciously close to the rhetoric we've heard from AEP in the wake of the EPA's new rules.  Clean Air Watch says, "A utility commissioner from West Virginia (where AEP is influential), Jon McKinney, is sponsoring a resolution that seems to have come right out of the old AEP word processor. "  They even insinuate that the Resolution was "ghostwritten" by AEP.

Public health groups have written a letter of protest to NARUC.  The groups include the American Lung Association, American Public Health Association, Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America,
Physicians for Social Responsibility and Trust for America’s Health.  The letter urges NARUC members to take into account the tremendous public health costs associated with fossil-fuel power plants.

Whether the accusation that AEP wrote McKinney's resolution true or not, the public's perception that the WV PSC is controlled by out-of-state energy companies is real.  This is how the citizens of West Virginia, and the rest of the country, perceive the WV PSC -- as firmly in the pockets of big business.  AEP also seems to perceive the WV Public Service Commission members as something worthy of "strategy."  See AEP's "strategy" list of pertinent information about the WV PSC Commissioners on page 56 of this presentation.  That needs to change.  The WV PSC's first responsibility should be to the citizens of West Virginia, not acting as a minion for corporate spin campaigns.  Let Governor Tomblin know that you're counting on him to put West Virginians first.