20070202 The Electrocution of Ken Schisler

The Electrocution of Ken Schisler

February 2nd, 2007

UPDATE: I would like to call to your attention that Mr. Kline, who has represented Mr. Schisler in many of the matters reviewed in this blog post has left a comment…

Greg Kline has left a new comment on your post "20070202 The Electrocution of Ken Schisler": I do not know if you are interested in the actual story with regard to Chairman Schisler, but I wrote on spoke on this at my blog http://conservativerefuge.blogspot.com I have only been representing the guy for a year and was party to the discussions leading up to the "dark day" you describe. Might be something to round out the story.

I have asked him to review this post for any corrections, additions or edits…

His blog, “The Conservative Refuge” does indeed give us insight to some of the “rest of the story” and I recommend that you give it a read.

Meanwhile – spread the word… to paraphrase Mr. Kline, we can never have enough friends or support. Please consider leaving Mr. Schisler best wishes in the comment section on this post or please consider going to Mr. Kline’s web site, The Conservative Refuge, and leaving Mr. Schisler best wishes and thanks for all his service to the State of Maryland on his site in the comment section.

KED

~~~~~~

The resignation of Ken Schisler as chair of the Maryland Public Service Commission is understandable on the part of Mr. Schisler, but nevertheless, a dark day for Maryland.

There are three very good posts about electric de-regulation by Maryland Bloggers Alliance members that I’d like to call to your attention; one post by Maryland Conservatarian and two posts by Stephanie Dray writing on her blog, “Jousting for Justice.”

Maryland Conservatarian
http://marylandconservatarian.blogspot.com/2007/02/with-ehrlich-gone-so-does-blaming.html, Thursday, February 01, 2007, “With Ehrlich gone, so does blaming the sitting Governor”
_____

Jousting for Justice
http://politics.stephaniedray.com/?q=node/204
“Maryland Dems Will Let BGE Steal Your Lunch Money,” Submitted by Stephanie Dray on Thu, 2007-02-01 02:46.
______

Jousting for Justice
http://politics.stephaniedray.com/?q=node/205
“Blame and Responsibility in Maryland's Energy Debacle,” Submitted by Stephanie Dray on Fri, 2007-02-02 03:50.

[Also see the following Tentacle columns: Shock and Amps; Shock and Amps – the Second Candle; Governor Crothers, Meet Dan Rodricks; and Electrocuting The Elephant.]

Or go here for a listing of old blog posts on electric deregulation in my electronic storage closet.
_____

Maryland Conservatarian and Jousting for Justice are two blogs and two individuals for whom I have a great deal of admiration and respect. All of what they said was thoughtful and well written, however all three posts contain errors…

First off, former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening did not support electric deregulation. He signed into law legislation that was veto-proof. He fought the legislation aggressively and only agreed to not veto it anyway when he was given the concession of the rate caps – which is perhaps the fatal fly in the ointment. See footnote.[1]




Secondly, I know for a fact and first-hand that former Governor Robert L. Ehrlich cared greatly about the affects of deregulation. Governor Ehrlich’s plan to address the challenges was far superior to the smoke and mirrors political pandering adopted by the special session of the Maryland General Assembly. Read: “What a sham!” Friday, June 16, 2006 by Barry Rascovar

As hindsight has proven that the 1999 electric deregulation legislation went horribly wrong. I do not fault any of the main protagonists for bringing about the legislation; however, there were those of us who were profoundly upset over the issue of the rate cap.

What was - and remains reprehensible is the partisan political games that ensued in 2006. In short, what is reprehensible is the response to, what was otherwise, legislation, that was brought about by most involved, for the purpose of better serving the citizens of Maryland - - that fell victim to the law of unintended consequences.

The response last year had nothing to do with what was in the best interests of the citizens of Maryland and everything to do with electing a Democrat governor of the state of Maryland.

The situational ethics and intellectual hypocrisy of the Baltimore Sun’s coverage is of historic proportions. What the Baltimore Sun did to the Public Service Chair Ken Schisler ought to dissuade anyone from ever stepping up the plate in Maryland in an attempt to serve and attempt to make a contribution to our great state for decades.

Governor O’Malley – then Mayor O’Malley - and I are both in the “former mayor’s club” and my personal experience with him has allowed me to have developed respect for him. However, the political bankruptcy of the O’Malley campaign for governor over the response to electric-deregulation-gone-badly, will never be among the many reasons for my respect for Martin O’Malley.

Off the top of my head the 1999 legislation rolled back the rates to 1993 and then froze them well into the mid-2005, 2006s. This was terrible mistake. There was no way that competition was to be realized under that construct.

PSC Chair Ken Schisler warned the Maryland General Assembly well in advance on numerous occasions. See footnote for the entire article: “We Warned Them," Says PSC's Schisler, Friday, March 24, 2006, WBAL Radio.[2]

“We Warned Them," Says PSC's Schisler, Friday, March 24, 2006, WBAL Radio:

The chairman of Maryland's Public Service Commission is dismissing claims by some lawmakers that they were blindsided by BGE's plans to raise rates precipitously when price caps come off in July.

WBAL News has obtained records that show numerous conferences and meetings between PSC agents and lawmakers over the course of several months last year. At least 20 briefings or meetings are documented by the PSC.

Yet listen to Speaker Busch's response to Kenneth Schisler's concerns - here.

Additionally, “The Sun Lies” wrote on Jane 29th, 2006:

One of our readers sent us an email making a very good point. The author said that The Sun has found plenty of time to criticize the PSC, but not a single word of criticism towards a Senate deregulation committee that met only four times and did not produce any suggestions or reports. In their quest for journalistic glory, The Sun seems to have missed an entire chunk of the story that really details why this isn’t really about the PSC, but instead why this is about a partisan hatchet game by the Maryland General Assembly.

Compare this information with what the Baltimore Sun misleadingly stated in their editorial on January 31, 2007. Remember, Mr. Schisler repeatedly advised the Maryland General Assembly – contrary to what the Sun suggests in “Help wanted” an editorial originally published by the Baltimore Sun on January 31, 2007.

Additionally, The Baltimore Sun continues to not understand the role of the Public Service Commission to this day. It is not a legislative body and the PSC can only facilitate and administer the laws promulgated by the Maryland General Assembly. And that goes for any chair, whether they are rabidly pro-business or anti-business.

As far as Mr. Schisler’s reputation, the responsibility for any alleged diminution of his reputation lies at the feet of the persistent and consistent misrepresentations of the Baltimore Sun and the Maryland Democratic leadership who choose to tar and feather a scapegoat instead of rolling up their sleeves, and accepting responsibility to address the challenges. It was easier to throw Mr. Schisler under a bus.

Now take a look, for example, at “Help wanted,” an editorial originally published by the Baltimore Sun on January 31, 2007:

[…]

The resignation of the chairman of Maryland's Public Service Commission, Kenneth D. Schisler, is a welcome, if overdue, event. Mr. Schisler's credibility had bottomed out quite some time ago, and his lingering presence on the board threatened some ugly legal machinations. And while Mr. Schisler's actions (or inactions) are hardly the primary reason Baltimore Gas and Electric customers are likely to face much higher electricity bills this summer, he clearly wasn't going to be part of any long-term solution.

[…]

The first item on the agenda for this new PSC will certainly be BGE's pending rate proposal. But the commission should also be forward-looking. What's needed is a thorough assessment of the fundamental relationship between the state and the utilities.

Baltimore Sun David Nitkin wrote on March 15, 2006, in an article titled, “From quiet delegate to center of PSC storm:”

The former delegate from the Eastern Shore has suddenly become far more visible - and a much bigger target - than he was as a young backbencher known for his affable demeanor and conservative views.

Old colleagues in Annapolis are heaping criticism on Schisler, saying he oversaw the terminations of high-level commission staff members who had the knowledge and ability to stand up to utility companies such as Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.

Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, a Democratic candidate for governor, has called for Schisler's resignation, launching an online petition drive for his ouster that the mayor said had garnered 1,000 signatures in a few hours.

But Schisler, 36, is standing firm. He said his agency has no legal authority to demand lower rates for consumers after legislatively imposed caps on electricity rates come off this summer.

"The commission did not have any jurisdiction to deny that price," Schisler said. "There simply were no mistakes." (My emphasis.)

There is essentially no wiggle-room for the PSC - as far as the implementation of the deregulation and the administering the wreckage of the 1999 electric deregulation legislation. There is very little either the governor or the Public Service Commission can do.

The responsibility rests solely with the Maryland General Assembly.

Meanwhile Governor O’Malley is painted into a corner.

With the Democrats own soon-to-be-handpicked Chair of the Public Service Commission and not having Governor Ehrlich around to misrepresent and scapegoat, who are they going to electrocute next for global market forces that have precipitously escalated the cost of electricity for the last seven years – while the legislature slept?

Now that Baltimore Sun has elected our current governor and now gotten rid of the Public Service Chair, whom will it electrocute next?
______

References:

Maryland Conservatarian
http://marylandconservatarian.blogspot.com/2007/02/with-ehrlich-gone-so-does-blaming.html, Thursday, February 01, 2007, “With Ehrlich gone, so does blaming the sitting Governor”
_____

Jousting for Justice
http://politics.stephaniedray.com/?q=node/204
“Maryland Dems Will Let BGE Steal Your Lunch Money,” Submitted by Stephanie Dray on Thu, 2007-02-01 02:46.
______

Jousting for Justice
http://politics.stephaniedray.com/?q=node/205
“Blame and Responsibility in Maryland's Energy Debacle,” Submitted by Stephanie Dray on Fri, 2007-02-02 03:50.
______

“Deregulation: Six years of complacency, three weeks of panic”
http://www.gazette.net/stories/031706/polia%20s194213_31949.shtml
Friday, March 17, 2006 by Thomas Dennison, Gazette Staff Writer

http://www.gazette.net/stories/061606/poliiss183008_31948.shtml
“What a sham!”
Friday, June 16, 2006 by Barry Rascovar

June 7, 2006
Electrocuting The Elephant
Kevin E. Dayhoff
In response to a judge's decision on May 30 to overturn Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s "April Plan," to phase-in increases in electric rates, the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) decided last Friday to go back to the original "March Plan" to phase in Baltimore Gas & Electric's deregulated electric rates due to go into effect July 1.

April 12, 2006
Governor Crothers, Meet Dan Rodricks
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Recently Baltimore Sun columnist Dan Rodricks wrote a remarkable column that may earn itself an Olympic honorable mention in the annals of populist political propaganda: “Legislators grabbed power to put public back in Public Service Commission (PSC).”

April 5, 2006
Shock and Amps – the Second Candle
Kevin E. Dayhoff
Members of the Maryland General Assembly’s leadership deserve a lifetime achievement award for ducking their responsibilities, scapegoating and obfuscating the truth in their response to the rate caps coming off Baltimore Gas and Electric as a result of the 1999 electric deregulation legislation.

April 4, 2006
Shock and Amps
Kevin E. Dayhoff
The recent power surge of Maryland General Assembly legislative initiatives in response to the end of the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company’s electric rate price freeze ought to be referred to as the “Omnibus Rolling Blackout Acts of 2006.”

20060915 KDDC Court ruling on firing the Maryland Public Service ...
16 Sep 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff
20060622 KDDC How Legislators voted on SB1 Electric Rate Restructuring ... 20060622 KDDC Gov Vetoes General Assemblys Electric Rate Hike Plan ... Governor Ehrlich Vetoes General Assembly’s Electric Rate Hike Plan; Supports Consumer ...
Kevin Dayhoff - http://www.kevindayhoff.com/index.html

200060616 KDDC What a sham by Barry Rascovar
17 Jun 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff
They were furious at the Republican-appointed Public Service Commission for imposing a 21 percent electric rate rise on 1.2 million Central Maryland residents in July, with gradual monthly increases bringing the total increase by next ...
Kevin Dayhoff - http://www.kevindayhoff.com/index.html

20060622 KDDC How Legislators voted on SB1 Electric Rate Restructuring
22 Jun 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff
How Legislators voted on SB1 Electric Rate Restructuring SB 1 Economic Matters Report No.2, The President, "Public Service Commission - Electric Industry Restructuring" Voting on ON THIRD READING (Rules Suspended) (Emerg) in the House. ...

Kevin Dayhoff - http://www.kevindayhoff.com/index.html
20060622 KDDC Gov Vetoes General Assemblys Electric Rate Hike Plan
22 Jun 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff
Governor Ehrlich Vetoes General Assembly’s Electric Rate Hike Plan; Supports Consumer Choice Without Interest Charges. Thu 6/22/2006 3:31 PM. ANNAPOLIS – Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. today vetoed Senate Bill 1, the Maryland General ...
Kevin Dayhoff - http://www.kevindayhoff.com/index.html

20060707 KDDC Recent MGA actions on Electric Dereg will hurt ...
7 Jul 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff
Recent General Assembly actions on Electric Deregulation will hurt Marylanders. July 7, 2006. In light of Maryland's Court of Appeal's decision today to halt the General Assembly's firing of the Public Service Commission, ...
Kevin Dayhoff - http://www.kevindayhoff.com/index.html

20060615 KDDC Ehrlich announces Public Hearing on GA Electric Rate Leg
15 Jun 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff
ANNAPOLIS – Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. today announced he would hold a public hearing on the Maryland General Assembly’s attempt to mitigate rising electricity costs for Baltimore Gas & Electric customers. ...
Kevin Dayhoff - http://www.kevindayhoff.com/index.html

20060624 KDDC As Confusion reigns over Upcoming Electric Rates
25 Jun 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff
As confusion reigns over the BGE electric rate increase, the Democratic Party posted an advertisement on their web-site, The Baltimore Sun, claiming to have a “calculator” that will calculate the difference in your electric bill by ...
Kevin Dayhoff - http://www.kevindayhoff.com/index.html

20060331 Gazette gets MD electric dereg debacle correctly
31 Mar 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff
If legislative leaders use their preposterous PSC⁄electric rate proposals as bargaining chips, a workable compromise is possible. If legislators finally heed veteran election officials, a sensible balloting plan could surface. ...
Kevin Dayhoff - http://www.kevindayhoff.com/index.html

20060620 KDDC MGA Spec Session June 15 2006 - A review
20 Jun 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff
Unless you have been on vacation for several weeks, by now you are aware that the Maryland General Assembly met in Special Session on June Thursday, June 15th, 2006 and passed Senate Bill 1: “Public Service Commission - Electric ...
Kevin Dayhoff - http://www.kevindayhoff.com/index.html

20060703 KDDC Judge Beck put on prospective list for Public ...
4 Jul 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff
Late last week, aides for the governor said that it was premature to gauge what the governor will or will not do, in the face of yet another in a series of political squabbles over the unexpected negative outcome of the 1999 electric ...
Kevin Dayhoff - http://www.kevindayhoff.com/index.html

20060614 KDDC Lights Out, the second shoe
14 Jun 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff
The legislature's ire has focused on Constellation Energy Group, parent of Baltimore Gas & Electric Co., the state's largest electric utility. In an effort to blackmail the utility into agreeing to below-market rates, it tried to block ...
Kevin Dayhoff - http://www.kevindayhoff.com/index.html

20060612 KDDC 2006 1st Special Session hearing information
12 Jun 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff
Subject: - Electric Restructuring Legislation - Joint with the Senate Finance Committee NOTE : Members of the Senate Special Commission on Electric Utility Deregulation Implementation are invited to attend. ...
Kevin Dayhoff - http://www.kevindayhoff.com/index.html

20060620 KDDC Photo of the MGA’s attempts to mitigate the 72 ...
21 Jun 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff
This is a photograph of the Maryland General Assembly’s attempts to mitigate the 72 % electric rate increase as a result of the 1999 “Electric Utility Industry Restructuring” – SB 300. The locomotive is named “Senate Bill 1.” ...
Kevin Dayhoff - http://www.kevindayhoff.com/index.html

20060703 KDDC Judge Beck nominated for Public Service Commission
4 Jul 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff
The legislation adopted June 15th, fired the current Public Service Commission, considered by many to be the scapegoats of the electric deregulation gone awry in the face of a difficult election year. ...
Kevin Dayhoff - http://www.kevindayhoff.com/index.html

20060706 KDDC Blog mentions my April 12 Tentacle column
7 Jul 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff
One of the main architects of the 1999 electric industry deregulation legislation was Senate President Thomas V. (Mike) Miller (D. Anne Arundel). Seven years later, legislation that was once thought of as brilliant – has failed ...
Kevin Dayhoff - http://www.kevindayhoff.com/index.html

20060523 KDDC BE editorial MD legislators fail basic economics24 May 2006 by Kevin Dayhoff
In 1999 legislators capped electricity prices at Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. for six years at prices 6.5 percent below 1993 rates, squashing electricity competition (who would compete for below market rates?) and paving the way for the ...
Kevin Dayhoff - http://www.kevindayhoff.com/index.html

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[1] In an article written by Gazette writer Tom Dennison on March 17th, 2006, he, in part, provided some exculpatory information on the role of former Governor Parris Glendening in the electric deregulation mess. The article is titled, “Deregulation: Six years of complacency, three weeks of panic.”

[…]

Electricity deregulation was a national movement, promoted by power companies like Enron, the Houston energy giant that filed for bankruptcy in 2001 after widespread corporate and accounting fraud. In 1998 and 1999, Enron hired one of Annapolis’ most influential lobbying firms, Alexander & Cleaver, for more than $177,000 to lobby for the bill, according to state records.

While both Democrats and Republicans were pushing for deregulation, it was the General Assembly’s top leadership that led the charge.

Miller, then Senate Finance Chairman Thomas L. Bromwell (D), then House Environmental Matters Chairman Ronald Guns and Speaker Taylor, were ready to go to the mat against their governor, Parris N. Glendening, to pass the bill.

Glendening (D), who had been overwhelmingly re-elected just four months earlier, had deep reservations about deregulation. Democratic lawmakers, however, made it clear that they were prepared to override his veto if he decided to stand in their way.

‘‘The governor was never convinced that deregulation of utilities was a good idea from a public policy standpoint,” recalled Fred Hoover, who served as Glendening’s director of the Maryland Energy Administration and is now a lawyer in Washington. ‘‘There was significant interest on the part of the legislative leadership to do this.”

The bill was approved in late March 1999. Glendening eventually signed it, but not until he had made clear his concerns about how it would play out for ratepayers and the lack of a renewable energy component in the bill.

‘‘I am hopeful, but not yet convinced, that the cap ... will assist consumers in purchasing market rate electricity,” Glendening wrote in a Feb. 25, 1999, letter to the legislative leadership obtained by The Gazette.

But the competition envisioned by deregulation’s backers never materialized.

[…]

Read the entire article here.

[2]
“We Warned Them," Says PSC's Schisler, Friday, March 24, 2006, WBAL Radio

The chairman of Maryland's Public Service Commission is dismissing claims by some lawmakers that they were blindsided by BGE's plans to raise rates precipitously when price caps come off in July.

WBAL News has obtained records that show numerous conferences and meetings between PSC agents and lawmakers over the course of several months last year.

At least 20 briefings or meetings are documented by the PSC.

According to chairman Kenneth Schisler met personally with Senator Thomas Middleton on October 19th.

Sen. Middleton is one of the supporters of a measure that would put the proposed merger between BGE's parent Constellation Energy and Florida Power and Light on hold in order to force a reduction in the proposed rate increases, said to average 72 percent or about $740 dollars more a year for BGE customers.

Schisler said he spent a great deal of time last summer trying to notify people of the pending increases.

House Speaker Michael Busch told WBAL News that some lawmakers might have been blindsided, but that Schisler never met privately with him since becoming chairman of the PSC.

Critics have charged the PSC with being too supportive of utilities and leaders from both parties in Annapolis have said the rate hikes are too high and must be lowered, or at lease deferred over more time, for customers.

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