Department of Public Service details Fiscal 2027 budget, flags federal funding uncertainty

Deputy Commissioner Britney Wilson told the Senate Appropriations Committee that the Department of Public Service’s Fiscal 2027 budget is built on special funds rather than general revenues and that the department’s work covers energy, telecommunications, water and wastewater utility matters. "The department represents the public interest in energy, telecommunications, water, and wastewater utility matters," Wilson said during a slide-driven presentation.

Wilson and Patty LaRose, the department’s financial manager, walked senators through divisions, Fiscal 2026 accomplishments and several program-level funding items. The presenters said the slide deck showed the department’s special-fund budget as "12.6" (as presented on slide 20) and that the gross receipts tax is the primary contributor to those special funds. They also said the department receives about 60% of gross-receipts/net-metering revenues while the Public Utility Commission receives the remaining 40%.

LaRose reviewed planned spending and flagged specific program allocations in the roughly $18.5 million of federal funds the department expects to deploy: about $10,000,000 is currently planned for the home energy-efficiency rebate program, with funds to be distributed to the Office of Economic Opportunity for weatherization. The department said some other federal awards are conditional and remain uncertain; Wilson noted the Solar for All award (identified on the slides as about $6,250,000) was terminated under the prior federal administration and is still pending resolution.

The presenters asked the committee to consider two requested budget-language changes. First, the department proposed converting a limited-service position to a permanent classified director in administrative services to provide dedicated leadership. Second, the department proposed extending the statewide telecom-plan update cycle from three years to five years; Wilson said each update currently costs on the order of a half-million dollars, and stretching the cadence would reduce recurring costs.

LaRose summarized the budget "ups and downs," noting salary and fee increases plus several one-time items (a comprehensive energy plan update and a new EPSD/EPUC case-management system). She said the largest single increase in the recommended FY27 spending is for grants out to communities, which the presentation listed as an increase of about $16,300,000.

On ARPA funds, the department said about $130,000 remained but that those dollars were already obligated and tied to pending invoices. Committee members asked multiple clarifying questions about whether particular federal figures represented conditional awards or funds already in hand; Wilson and LaRose distinguished between funds expected to be deployed and conditional awards that may not be realized.

The committee did not take a formal vote on the department’s budget presentation. The department presenters closed their briefing and the committee moved on to bill business.