Montana, Nebraska Utility Regulators' Elections Seen Most Important to Telecom

Eighteen seats on 10 states’ public utilities commissions (PUCs) were up for election Tuesday. Industry observers said in recent interviews that the results of elections to the Montana Public Service Commission and Nebraska Public Service Commission are the ones that could have the most impact on telecom regulation. Two Montana PSC seats were up for a vote, and one Nebraska PSC seat was on the ballot.

Montana Commissioner Travis Kavulla, a Republican, ran unopposed. Montana state Rep. Galen Hollenbaugh, a Democrat, and former Montana Secretary of State Brad Johnson, a Republican, were vying for the seat occupied by retiring Montana PSC Chairman Bill Gallagher, a Republican. In Nebraska, Democrat Crystal Rhoades and Republican John Sieler were running to replace retiring PSC Commissioner Anne Boyle, a Democrat. All five members of the Montana PSC were Republicans before the election, while the Nebraska PSC was 4-1 Republican. The other seats up for election Tuesday were on commissions in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

Republicans were favored to win most of the other seats up for election Tuesday, said National Regulatory Research Institute Principal Researcher Sherry Lichtenberg. The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) is the only commission of the nine with seats on the ballot that is currently majority Democratic. All but three of the 18 seats on the ballot were occupied by Republicans before the election: Boyle’s seat on the Nebraska PSC and one in each on the Louisiana PSC and the New Mexico PRC. Louisiana PSC Commissioner Foster Campbell, a Democrat, was running for re-election against Winnfield City Prosecutor Keith Gates, a Republican. Former New Mexico state Sen. Lynda Lovejoy, a Democrat, was unopposed in her race for a seat on the state PRC after defeating incumbent Chairwoman Theresa Becenti-Aguilar in the Democratic primary.

Republican victories in commission races Tuesday will likely mean “less regulation overall” of utilities in those states, though only Montana and Nebraska have taken an active role in the telecom sphere, Lichtenberg said. “Telecom does fade into the background” in PUC elections, though issues like call completion and universal service remain important for commissions to address, Lichtenberg said. “Those remain key issues, but frankly they’re not sexy."

Boyle’s retirement from the Nebraska PSC is important for telecom regulation because she was active on the state and federal levels, Lichtenberg said. Boyle has been active in FCC issues and is an active participant in NARUC, Lichtenberg said. “We are all sorry that Anne is leaving the commission,” Lichtenberg said. Boyle is on NARUC’s Telecom Committee and was formerly a member of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service and the Universal Service Administrative Co. board.

Boyle has been “one of the most active commissioners” at NARUC on telecom issues, said Brian O’Hara, NARUC legislative director-telecom technology and water. “Her loss will be felt.” Boyle “has been very outspoken on USF policy” but “she was also very much in favor of eliminating as much waste, fraud and abuse as possible,” O’Hara said. “She wanted to make sure that money was used appropriately.” Boyle also led fights on early termination fees and eliminating consumer duplication when wireless carriers began to receive Lifeline money, he said.

Boyle “has been viewed as a true consumer advocate, so hopefully whoever wins will understand that in a rural area like Nebraska, that’s very important,” Lichtenberg said. Boyle endorsed Rhoades in the race to replace her on the PSC. “Anne Boyle recruited me and has been a wonderful mentor to me and I have every intention of educating myself and working to find thoughtful solutions that protect consumers and aid businesses in expanding and enhancing high quality services,” Rhoades told us. She said she wants to “ensure that we are doing everything necessary to build and maintain a reliable affordable network” and that “the next few years are going to be an exciting time to be a part of” the PSC as it works through the impact of advances in communications technology on industry and consumers. Sieler declined to comment on his telecom regulatory views.

Kavulla’s re-election is unlikely to change the Montana PSC’s stance on telecom regulation, but it remains important, Lichtenberg said. Kavulla has focused on USF issues and “has more of a deregulatory bent but he does pay very close attention to what is necessary to make sure that consumers are able to get the service they paid for,” Lichtenberg said. Kavulla has been vocal on USF issues, though energy issues tend to dominate proceedings at the Montana PSC in general, NARUC's O’Hara said.

Kavulla told us he will continue to make USF and Connect America Fund issues a major focus, saying spending and transparency issues have been “a big policy issue on our radar recently.” Other rural telecom issues will also continue to be important, including advanced technology deployment in rural areas, Kavulla said. “There’s a lot of thorny policy questions rolled up into the provision of rural service,” he said. “That attracts a lot of play in Montana, but now more so than in the past because of the flux those programs have been in and a lot of the problems finally coming home to roost in ways that are keeping customers out of service for long periods of time.”