Schmidt quits

Thursday, March 9, 2000 | 10:34 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- State Consumer Advocate Fred Schmidt, who has represented residential consumers in fights against big utilities for 12 years, is resigning to go into private law practice.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said Schmidt has saved Nevada consumers tens of millions of dollars on their telephone, natural gas, electricity and water bills.

Schmidt has been the point man representing consumers faced with proposed rate hikes sought by Nevada utilities. The Legislature gave him money to hire outside experts to come to Nevada to testify on behalf of the small consumer in rate-increase cases, which sometimes totaled more than $100 million.

Schmidt, who works for Del Papa, said it was time to move on in his law career. He will head up a new Carson City office for the law firm of Hale, Lane, Peek, Dennison, Howard and Anderson, which has offices in Reno and Las Vegas.

No replacement has been named for the $84,596-a-year state job whose title is director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Schmidt also handled fraud and antitrust cases. Del Papa said millions of dollars have been returned to Nevada consumers who were robbed in telemarketing and securities scams.

Schmidt started as a deputy attorney general for the Colorado River Commission from 1980 to 1983. In 1983 Gov. Richard Bryan named Schmidt to the state Public Service Commission, which was later named the Public Utilities Commission. In 1988 he was appointed to his present job by Attorney General Brian McKay.

Del Papa, who has reappointed him to three terms, said his "expertise will be sorely missed."

"In addition to his expertise litigating utility rate cases, Fred is one of the most knowledgeable people in the nation on utility industry issues, especially as related to the ongoing restructuring of electricity, natural gas and telephone industries," Del Papa said.