Public Utilities Commissioner Gary Hanson solicited money for an energy conference from many of the Midwest utility companies that the PUC regulates.
If this is the kind of thing that Gary thinks is okay, I would prefer he does not run for Mayor of Sioux Falls next year. We already have enough of that shit going on in City Hall.
Otter Tail Power Co., a $2,500 sponsor of last week’s conference, has a 15.3 percent rate increase, or $3.8 million, pending before the South Dakota PUC.
Kind of like Sioux Falls developers funding the campaigns of the City Councilors who voted for an unecessary tax increase last year that benefits them. But hey, there is no connection, just look the other way.
“The simple answer is, they should have never done this,” said David Schultz, a professor of business at Hamline University in St. Paul and a frequent lecturer on political ethics. “I question the motive, the conflict of interest is there. Customers, going forward, will question whether their next rate increase is on merit, or based on a trivial, but important, sponsorship as the utilities came through for these commissioners when they needed it.”
I have questioned utility sponsorship for years. This story is way overdue. For instance one of the biggest sponsors of SculptureYawn is Excel Energy, with it’s state director being the key founder, who probably spends countless hours of company time and resources to organize the event. I even talked to the VP of Excel about it once on the phone, wondering how the SD director can be critical of SculptureWalk dissenters (myself) on company time? Of course he defended him, basically saying he has to freewill to do what he wants. How do I get a job like that? While I am all for corporations sponsoring public art, I question our rates going up every year while service gets poorer. How about finding ways to save customers money on utilities instead throwing thousands of dollars around for din-dins and gigantic welded metal geese and turtles?
Once again, pay to play is alive and well in South Dakota and it’s time the State Legislature ponied up and made this practice illegal. Yeah right, who am I kidding?