Barnie Day, to my knowledge, is the first candidate for a State Corporation Commission judgeship who has made his case publicly on a blog. In “A Matter of Exquisite Balance,” Barnie provides a thoughtful column on the qualities he believes an SCC judge should possess.
As a community bank executive in Patrick County, this former Bacon’s Rebellion contributor knows full well that business is the goose that lays the golden egg. At the same time, Day is a consumer. “I want the lights to come on when I hit the switch. I want my insurance company to pay my claims. I want my phones to work. I want my bank to stay solvent and take care of my money.” A judge, he says, has to find the right balance.
I would agree with all that, but as a citizen I want to know his thoughts in more detail. As Day rightly observes, the three SCC judges are the state’s supreme regulators. The odds are you can’t name a single one of them, but outside of the governor, the House majority leader and the Senate majority leader, they may be the three most powerful men (and/or women) in Virginia.
These are tumultuous times, especially for Virginia’s energy industry. The state will have a lot to say about how many new power plants, and what type, the newly regulated electric power industry builds over the next decade. Which path, or paths, should we pursue? Nuclear? Coal? Renewable? Conservation? Imported electricity over transmission lines? How do we “balance” environmental concerns against the desire to protect consumers by keeping rates low? Meanwhile, a proposal has been floated that would reform the way natural gas companies are regulated, with the aim of promoting conservation.
How worried is Day about global warming, a key justification for energy conservation and renewable fuels? What is the proper balance between consumer concerns and environmental concerns? How aggressive should the Commonwealth be adopting a new regulatory philosophy? The men and women of the General Assembly who appoint the SCC judges may not ask these questions, but they should.