Power Moves: Extending the Regulatory Commission Sunset

Tomorrow, Feb. 15, there will be a hearing before the Senate Community and Regional Affairs Committee to talk about whether the termination date for the Regulatory Commission of Alaska should be extended. The Commission is set to sunset sometime this year. Here is the announcement for the hearing. Here is the Senate bill, SB 16, which extends the sunset date.

For those who don't know, whenever a company wants to go into the energy business (coal, gas, oil, wind..etc.) there are two regulatory bodies that you have to aim to please. The first is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and the second is the state commission where you are doing business. Regulations vary from state to state, and can be extremely burdensome to the point where power becomes unprofitable. California is the best example.

It takes a delicate balance to juggle the relationships when you are the state commissioner. The commissioner is at the forefront of the battle over state sovereignty. The FERC doesn't care about state sovereignty, as long as their requirements are met. But, I would argue that it is impossible for the commissioner to think outside of these terms, given the regulatory morass we live in today. (By the way, I think they should extend the sunset date for at least five years. If they make the extension to small, resources are wasted attempting to extend it again.)