PSC chairman reflects on his time with the agency

WITH THREE YEARS LEFT IN TERM, SAYS WHY HE'S LEAVING

By Scott Sloan

SSLOAN@HERALD-LEADER.COM

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Mark David Goss

Last month, state Public Service Commission Chairman Mark David Goss surprised many in announcing his departure from the agency that regulates utilities on issues including rates and construction.

His resignation comes three years before his second term as chairman would have expired. In his final days on the job last week, he sat down to discuss the reasons behind his resignation, Kentucky's critical energy issues, and offered his thoughts on improving the operation of the PSC. Goss declined to discuss pending cases, as well as certain past cases, including the controversial Kentucky American Water proceedings, saying it would be inappropriate.

On his decision to leave:

"In the course of those four-and-a-half years, I have maintained two households. I missed the last three years of my youngest daughter's high school years. I've driven back and forth to my hometown of Harlan at least once a week and sometimes two or three times a week. ... And quite frankly, I had just gotten a little bit tired of the travel. I feel like I have given my best to the commission and to the citizens of the state. I'm just ready to do something else. There's been no precipitating event. Nothing has happened. I just feel like it's time to go."

On what's next:

"I'm going to take at least a month off. I have two daughters to move back from college. ... My wife and I are going to take some time to ourselves. After about a month off, I'm going to see where I am."

On the flap earlier this year when Gov. Steve Beshear's administration fired a few non-merit PSC employees without strictly adhering to state personnel laws. Goss fought successfully to have the employees reinstated through the duration of the General Assembly to retain their institutional knowledge:

"I think there were minor frustrations on both sides of the equation when that happened. Quite frankly, I think it was a lack of understanding on the part of the current administration as to how we are structured here at the commission. ... At the same time, I'll have to say that I recognize that the Beshear administration should have the ability to employ from a non-merit standpoint, who they want to employ ... I bear no ill will or animosity of any kind to the administration or (Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet) Secretary (Robert) Vance for that episode. It was one of those things that was taken care of very civilly, I think."

On frustrations while being chairman:

"It's no secret that we have budget problems here as a lot of other agencies do. I think we're different from a lot of other agencies in state government in that we are very heavy with professionals in this building. We have engineers, we have accountants and we have attorneys. You can't just pick those people up off the street or straight out of school and expect them to hit the ground running. The learning curve at this place is very steep. When you lose a 25-year employee, it's very difficult to replace him or her, and when you have budgetary problems like the state's having now, it really stretches the ability of a small agency like this to continue to crank out high-quality work."

On the impact of budget cuts on the PSC:

"It could be an increase in the amount of time it takes to get cases completed. A certain percentage of the cases that are filed here are subject to statutory deadlines, which means that we have to decide those cases within a certain period of time, which also means necessarily that they have to be given priority. ... In those cases that are not subject to statutory deadline ... those cases may well suffer an extension of time."

Calling the just-completed Kentucky American Water case the most important one he oversaw:

"That was one of the toughest cases we've had to process here, just because of the respective positions of the parties, the voluminous nature of the documents. ... It was a very sensitive case amongst a lot of people in Central Kentucky. And, after all, it's an issue that had been pending for over 20 years."

His view of Kentucky's most pressing energy issue:

"I think it's the mining of coal and the burning of coal. This state produces over 90 percent of its electricity from the combustion of coal. And if you believe what you hear on a daily basis from Washington, there will be carbon legislation sometime after this presidential election is over ... If you live in a state whose electricity is produced almost completely by the combustion of coal, and you suddenly add a cost to the carbon dioxide that's emitted from that combustion, it could well increase rates. ... The other issue that I think is problematic for Kentucky is we do not have a ready source of renewable energy to the same degree that other states have. We do not have any place in the state other than actually my home county, up on top of Big Black Mountain, that has any sustained wind. ... Unfortunately, we don't have 300 days of sunshine like they do in Arizona, so solar is not a viable option. We don't live on a seacoast, we can't harness the tides or the waves. And so we're going to have to rely to the degree that we can on energy efficiency and demand-response programs to try to shave the peaks down some."

A few suggestions for the Commission:

"It might be wise for the General Assembly to consider lengthening the terms of PSC commissioners from four years to six years. And the reason I say that is that the learning curve for a new commissioner, like I was that came in with no utility background, is so steep. You really don't come into your own in this job until you've been here for two or three years. And just about the time that you learn what you're doing, your term's up." Goss also suggested placing the commissioners under the judicial branch's stricter code of ethics rather than the current policy of executive branch ethics.

Reach business reporter Scott Sloan at (859) 231-1447 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 1447