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Public commenters press Senate for explanation of utility nomination withdrawal and warn against long-term renewable contracts
Summary
During public comment at the April 24 special Senate session, speakers urged the Senate to disclose the reason a Public Utility Commission nomination was withdrawn, to produce procurement records for a long-term renewable energy RFP, and to establish a CPUC quorum plan so ratepayers are not locked into risky 25-year contracts.
Public commenters used the Senate’s public-comment period on April 24 to press for transparency at the Commonwealth Public Utility Commission and to call for immediate action on water resiliency.
A commenter asked the Senate to provide a documented reason for the withdrawal of Chairman Cyrick’s renomination to the CPUC and to produce procurement records for the renewable-energy RFP, including evaluator score sheets, roll-call votes, conflict-of-interest disclosures and any written recusals. The commenter told the Senate that flaws in the procurement process could produce bid protests or litigation that would ultimately raise costs for ratepayers.
"Rate payers are not a blank check. The people of the commonwealth cannot be locked into a 25-year obligation under a process that is anything less than transparent, ethically clean, and legally defensible," the commenter said, urging a full record be preserved for independent oversight.
The commenter requested three specific actions be placed on the record: a written explanation for the nomination’s withdrawal; a clear plan and timeline to maintain or restore full CPUC quorum and operational capacity; and a joint public hearing by the Senate’s EAGI and PUTC committees focused on quorum impacts and procurement integrity, while avoiding discussion of the merits of pending adjudications.
Separately during public comment, a speaker identified by the presiding officer as Representative Vodon criticized the Commonwealth’s storm-response and said an existing law (Public Law 9-42 of 1995) authorized a revolving fund to finance household water catchment tanks. The speaker asked why the program was not meaningfully funded or expanded after Typhoon Laku, arguing distributed household resiliency could reduce emergency-wide impacts.
Jean Paul B. Raises, special assistant to the governor, later appeared on behalf of Governor David M. Apatang and Lieutenant Governor Dennis James C. Mindola to thank the Senate for considering the administration’s judicial nominees but did not address the public’s requests for CPUC documents in his remarks.
The Senate did not take immediate formal action on the demands for a written reason for the withdrawn nomination or on a quorum plan during the special session; public comment closed and the body proceeded to judicial confirmations and routine business.
