Recent decisions by the Maine Public Utilities Commission have given Democratic lawmakers pause in deciding on Gov. Paul LePage’s latest nominee for the energy regulator.
The Portland Press Herald reported that Democrats in the state Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee voted on Thursday to table the nomination of Bruce Williamson, who is the senior economist at the Institute for Nuclear Security at the University of Tennessee’s Howard Baker Center for Public Policy. The Democrats said they wanted more time to consider Williamson’s nomination before making a decision.
Williamson said during his testimony that he would make decisions based on data and research. But the committee’s Democrats focused on LePage’s current appointees on the PUC and questioned whether they are independent from the governor’s energy goals. Pointing to recent controversial decisions, such as cutting $36 million from Efficiency Maine’s budget, Rep. Mark Dion, D-Portland, who sits on the committee, said the PUC faces a “crisis of confidence.”
House Minority Leader Ken Fredette, R-Newport, who also sits on the committee, said tabling the vote is “politics at its worst.” Adrienne Bennett, LePage’s spokeswoman, said the committee should act swiftly in nominating Williamson because “he is clearly qualified.”
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LePage nominates Tennessee economist to PUC
