davis appoints cpuc commissioner gov . davis announced today his appointment of mike peevey as commissioner at the cpuc to replace com . bilas who resigned last week . mr . peevey is the former president of southern california edison and as such advocated deregulation . consumer group advocates are concerned about his past record and oppose his nomination which is subject to state senate approval . below is an article from the sacramento bee . gh
davis names ex - edison chief to puc
but the action stirs anger : ' our worst nightmare , ' says a consumer lawyer .
by stuart leavenworth - - bee staff writer
published 5 : 30 a . m . pst wednesday , march 6 , 2002
gov . gray davis has appointed a former president of southern california edison to a state panel charged with regulating edison and other public utilities .
davis said michael r . peevey would bring " more than three decades of experience " to the public utilities commission - - experience that immediately came under fire from the state ' s consumer groups .
mike florio , a lawyer for the utility reform network , said peevey has a record , both in government and in business , of pushing for higher rates for small businesses and residential consumers .
" this is a our worst nightmare , " florio said . " it is like putting dr . kevorkian in charge of a nursing home . "
others were more supportive . d . j . smith , a lobbyist who represents large industrial energy users , lauded peevey as someone " who understands all sides of the energy business " and will be fair to all sides .
" i think he will be objective about edison because he doesn ' t owe edison anything , " said smith , noting that peevey left the southern california utility nine years ago .
the husband of assemblywoman carol liu , d - south pasadena , peevey replaces puc commissioner richard bilas , who resigned last week . bilas was appointed by gov . pete wilson .
if confirmed by the state senate , peevey will solidify davis ' control over the puc , a five - member board that now includes three of the governor ' s appointees . it also comes at a time when the commission is fighting with the state ' s other large utility , pacific gas and electric co . , on terms for pg & e ' s reorganization in federal bankruptcy court .
pg & e spokesman ron low declined to comment on the appointment tuesday , but last year peevey was involved with a handshake deal that might have helped pg & e avoid bankruptcy .
hired by davis to negotiate with the utility , peevey reportedly struck a deal with pg & e chairman bob glynn that would have let pg & e charge ratepayers for all its costs of buying wholesale electricity . but other davis advisers objected to the deal and the negotiations ultimately fell apart .
for three years , peevey was president of edison international and southern california edison before leaving in 1993 in a reported power struggle with company chairman john bryson .
peevey then became a public affairs consultant and then president of newenergy inc . , an energy service provider that was sold in 1999 to aes corp . after working as an adviser to davis , he had been ceo of truepricing inc . and also has served on the board of excelergy corp . , an energy software company .
with his new six - year puc job , peevey will regulate not only electric utilities but telecommunications giants , water companies , natural gas supplies and other industries .
after a review by puc lawyers , peevey will have to divest holdings and resign from positions that could cause a conflict , davis spokesman steve maviglio said .
peevy ' s appointment was one of two davis made tuesday . he also appointed john l . geesman to the board of the independent system operator , which manages most of the state power grid .
since 1985 , geesman has been the managing director of fixed income banking for rbc dain rauscher inc . in san francisco . he once served on turn ' s board .
consumer groups , which had pressed for a meeting with davis for the past week , said the he may have timed his election day appointment of peevey to minimize negative media coverage .
maviglio called that claim " ludicrous . " today ' s papers , he said , " will be some of the best read this year . "
davis appoints cpuc commissioner
gov . davis announced today his appointment of mike peevey as commissioner at the cpuc to replace com . bilas who resigned last week . mr . peevey is the former president of southern california edison and as such advocated deregulation . consumer group advocates are concerned about his past record and oppose his nomination which is subject to state senate approval . below is an article from the sacramento bee . gh
davis names ex - edison chief to puc
but the action stirs anger : ' our worst nightmare , ' says a consumer lawyer .
by stuart leavenworth - - bee staff writer
published 5 : 30 a . m . pst wednesday , march 6 , 2002
gov . gray davis has appointed a former president of southern california edison to a state panel charged with regulating edison and other public utilities .
davis said michael r . peevey would bring " more than three decades of experience " to the public utilities commission - - experience that immediately came under fire from the state ' s consumer groups .
mike florio , a lawyer for the utility reform network , said peevey has a record , both in government and in business , of pushing for higher rates for small businesses and residential consumers .
" this is a our worst nightmare , " florio said . " it is like putting dr . kevorkian in charge of a nursing home . "
others were more supportive . d . j . smith , a lobbyist who represents large industrial energy users , lauded peevey as someone " who understands all sides of the energy business " and will be fair to all sides .
" i think he will be objective about edison because he doesn ' t owe edison anything , " said smith , noting that peevey left the southern california utility nine years ago .
the husband of assemblywoman carol liu , d - south pasadena , peevey replaces puc commissioner richard bilas , who resigned last week . bilas was appointed by gov . pete wilson .
if confirmed by the state senate , peevey will solidify davis ' control over the puc , a five - member board that now includes three of the governor ' s appointees . it also comes at a time when the commission is fighting with the state ' s other large utility , pacific gas and electric co . , on terms for pg & e ' s reorganization in federal bankruptcy court .
pg & e spokesman ron low declined to comment on the appointment tuesday , but last year peevey was involved with a handshake deal that might have helped pg & e avoid bankruptcy .
hired by davis to negotiate with the utility , peevey reportedly struck a deal with pg & e chairman bob glynn that would have let pg & e charge ratepayers for all its costs of buying wholesale electricity . but other davis advisers objected to the deal and the negotiations ultimately fell apart .
for three years , peevey was president of edison international and southern california edison before leaving in 1993 in a reported power struggle with company chairman john bryson .
peevey then became a public affairs consultant and then president of newenergy inc . , an energy service provider that was sold in 1999 to aes corp . after working as an adviser to davis , he had been ceo of truepricing inc . and also has served on the board of excelergy corp . , an energy software company .
with his new six - year puc job , peevey will regulate not only electric utilities but telecommunications giants , water companies , natural gas supplies and other industries .
after a review by puc lawyers , peevey will have to divest holdings and resign from positions that could cause a conflict , davis spokesman steve maviglio said .
peevy ' s appointment was one of two davis made tuesday . he also appointed john l . geesman to the board of the independent system operator , which manages most of the state power grid .
since 1985 , geesman has been the managing director of fixed income banking for rbc dain rauscher inc . in san francisco . he once served on turn ' s board .
consumer groups , which had pressed for a meeting with davis for the past week , said the he may have timed his election day appointment of peevey to minimize negative media coverage .
maviglio called that claim " ludicrous . " today ' s papers , he said , " will be some of the best read this year . "