Editor’s note: This article was updated at 3 p.m. Wednesday with comments from Gov. Phil Scott.
[G]reen Mountain Power and the Department of Public Service are categorically denying claims made in an anonymous letter that the heads of each organization have cooperated to push through a rate proposal that benefits the company at the expense of ratepayers.
The Public Utility Commission posted the letter to its website yesterday seeking public comments on it. It was also sent to media organizations on Monday.
The author of the two-page letter, addressed to PUC Chairman Anthony Roisman, claims that the “Department of Public service (sic) serves the interests of Green Mountain Power and not the public.”
In April, GMP filed for a 5.45 percent rate increase effective Jan. 1, 2019, to be offset by the recent federal corporate tax cuts that mean ratepayers will actually see a .5 percent decrease in their rates through Sept. 1, 2019.
The letter contains 15 bullet points outlining what the author refers to as a “sham orchestrated” by DPS Commissioner June Tierney and GMP CEO Mary Powell.
It alleges that GMP shortened the rate year to nine months to make it appear that there would be no rate increase, but that there will actually be an 8 percent rate increase after the tax credits expire. It then describes actions the department, under the direction of Tierney, allegedly took to shepherd GMP’s proposal through the PUC hearings.
“You should not approve a rate increase for Green Mountain power until someone has properly represented the interests of the rate payers,” the letter says.
The letter includes accusations that Tierney or her staff altered witness testimony; did not allow enough time for proper vetting of the proposal; obscured information that could have led to cheaper rates and declined to hire a consultant with a “track record of achieving multi-million dollar reductions” in rates.
Tierney allegedly removed information from DPS witness testimony that was unfavorable for GMP, including criticism of an executive bonus pay plan and “uneconomic and risky investments.” Department attorneys also allegedly removed rate reductions previously recommended by DPS staff in the weeks leading up to the final technical hearings in the case.
The letter also alleges that the commissioner “repeatedly clashed” with former DPS Finance Director Brian Winn during internal meetings over how the department was handling the case and says he was “quietly dismissed” after completing final testimony for the case.
According to the department’s staff page, Sean Foley is now acting director of finance and economics. Brian Winn is no longer listed as a staff member.
Gov. Phil Scott said at his weekly press conference on Wednesday said he had “complete faith” in Tierney’s handling of the rate case.
“It’s unfortunate that this anonymous letter came out and that — again anonymous is the key word here. And I believe in many respects it’s unfounded. So I have complete faith in the integrity of my commissioner and will continue to do what we’ve been doing which is watching out for Vermont rate payers,” he said.
In a letter filed Tuesday in response to the PUC’s request for comment, GMP attorney Geoffrey Hand wrote that the company “disagrees with the unsubstantiated statements” in the letter.
“A careful review of the comments shows that they are factually inaccurate and also inconsistent with extensive, sworn testimony and record evidence already submitted to the Commission over the course of this proceeding,” writes Hand.
GMP says in its letter that the department conducted detailed discovery for the case, including serving over 230 written questionings and document production requests. Both parties produced hundreds of pages of testimony during the case, the GMP letter says.
Hand also disputes the notion that GMP used the nine-month rate period to cover up a rate increase. The company used the shorter rate period to align the rate year with the company’s fiscal year, which had gotten out of synch due to the timing of last year’s rate case, he wrote.
GMP adds that it “has been clear” in all filings and customer communications that the underlying rate increase, now requested for 5.43 percent, will go into effect following the nine-month period. The GMP letter disputes the notion that there will be an 8 percent rate increase after the tax credits are returned.
“GMP cannot increase rates without PUC approval, and therefore whatever rate the Commission approves in this proceeding will be the base rate for GMP customers unless and until the PUC approves a future rate request,” Hand writes.
At the end of GMP’s letter, Hand writes that there is “no basis to rely on the anonymous comments” in Monday’s letter and that the company requests the PUC issue a decision based on the months of previous evidence.
Tierney said in an email Tuesday that the anonymous letter appears aimed at “undermining public confidence” in the department and the PUC case proceeding process.
“I categorically reject the insinuations of impropriety contained in the letter as they rest on assertions that lack any basis in fact,” she said.
Tierney said that she regrets that the author felt compelled to use an anonymous letter to attack the integrity of her staff, who testified under oath during the PUC case.
“I am confident that fair-minded Vermonters will recognize and value the solemnity that attends the act of swearing an oath and the presumption of good faith and credibility that it affords to testifying witnesses and appointed officials who are entrusted with administering agencies and upholding the law,” Tierney said.
Roisman, the PUC chair, told VPR that the letter was posted publicly in the interests of transparency.
“We have not made any judgment about the comment,” Roisman told VPR. “But it is a substantive comment, and we wanted to make sure the parties – if they wanted to – had an opportunity to say something about it.”
