Letter: Support governor in restructuring of electric power

Thursday, April 13, 2000 | 9:40 a.m.

The governor's role in the talks is to facilitate. A facilitator does not impose solutions, as your previous editorials suggest, but rather helps parties to find a mutually satisfactory outcome. It is not uncommon for the give-and-take of negotiations to go down a blind alley or two before a workable solution is found.

The disappointed expectations you mention regarding the overall progress of electric restructuring are, at least in part, the result of unrealistic expectations. The Public Utilities Commission, under the guidance of Judy Sheldrew, should have told the 1999 Legislature what the commission's own staff, as well as Consumer Advocate Fred Schmidt, had told it. Both estimated opening the market would take until Nov. 1, 2000.

An earlier editorial correctly identifies these matters as too important to be politicized. Do the right thing. Lead public opinion instead of attempting to undermine public confidence in the governor. Support the leadership that he has displayed in tackling head-on the complexities of electric restructuring.

RICHARD M. MCINTIRE Member, Public Utilities Commission