As someone who served as a public service commissioner with regulatory oversight over a large state’s electric utilities, I am fully supportive of using every tool in the toolbox to ensure that power companies provide reliable and affordable electricity to customers.
However, based on my real-world experiences, I also believe there can be too much oversight, which creates an unfair burden on the utility. Government regulators must not be so heavy-handed that the utility spends more time navigating the regulators than ensuring quality service. Ultimately, power companies spending significant time dealing with regulatory red tape for regulators – and not focusing on their core functions which are running a utility – can result in both higher electric bills and less reliable power for customers.
