Utilities official resigns in stand against ‘global settlement’

Monday, Sept. 25, 2000 | 11:17 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Judy Sheldrew, the lone member of the state Public Utilities Commission who has objected to the "global settlement" and its electric rate increases, is resigning.

She submitted this morning her letter of resignation effective Oct. 6 from the $82,000-a-year post to Gov. Kenny Guinn, whose administration at one time tried to pressure her into quitting.

In her letter, she said the utilities commission "has exceeded its authority and directly contravened the law in approving the settlement," which is "not in the best interest" of the public.

Sheldrew, who is leaving the commission one year before her term expires, will join a Maryland law firm as a consultant on electric restructuring issues. "I can do more off the commission to develop retail competition (in Nevada) than I can in my remaining year on the commission," she said.

She will remain in Nevada.

Frequently in the minority on the PUC, Sheldrew was the only one of the three commissioners to vote against the "global settlement," which would permit open competition in the electric industry to begin Nov. 1 for the big customers in Las Vegas and to allow automatic rate increases for Nevada Power Co. and Sierra Pacific Power Co. to cover the cost of higher fuel or purchased power.

In her letter to Guinn, Sheldrew said, "It is clear that the global settlement has nothing to do with improving the efficiency of the electric system as a whole. Rather, it appears to be merely a means to benefit some at the expense of others."

She said the 1999 law imposed a cap on electric rates and eliminated the procedure for the two major utilities to pass along to its customers the higher costs of fuel it purchased.

That law, she said has been "undone" by the global settlement, which "apparently was put together by only a few parties engaged in the restructuring debate in Nevada ..." It has resulted in rate increases of 8 percent for Nevada Power customers and 4.8 percent for Sierra Pacific Power users effective in November.

These rate increases, she told the governor, went into effect without prior review or approval of the utilities commission to determine if they were reasonable.

The settlement, she said, allows big customers to leave the system to look for lower power rates on Nov. 1, but homeowners won't be able to shop for reduced electric rates until next September. This results, she said, in "holding small customers captive at a time when it is likely that their rates will continue to significantly escalate."

Guinn said Saturday that he will decide this week whether he will allow electric deregulation to go forward on Nov. 1. The governor has the final say on opening the market, despite the "global settlement."

No replacement was named immediately by Guinn.

Last year Guinn's former chief of staff Pete Ernaut tried to force Sheldrew to resign, but she resisted leaving her four-year term early. She was then demoted from her job as chairman.

At one time, she was viewed as one of the most powerful executives in state government when she served as budget director.

In that position, she had a big say in controlling state spending. She was chairman of the state Public Works Board that set the priorities on state construction. She also was a member of the committee that oversaw the health insurance program for state workers and their dependents.

She has 26 years in state government and at times her service has been stormy. State Consumer Advocate Tim Hay was on the utilities commission but had a run-in with Sheldrew and resigned. She did not see eye-to-eye with former Chairman John Mendoza or Commissioner Gaylyn Denio.

Their disagreements seeped into the public.

In 1993 she was appointed by Gov. Bob Miller to the state Public Service Commission, which was later renamed the Public Utilities Commission. Miller characterized her as a "watchdog for the public."

She was born in Carson City, graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno, in 1973 and went to work immediately for the state Budget Office. She later was appointed a fiscal analyst for the Legislative Counsel Bureau and then returned to the budget office as deputy administrator.

She worked for a year as a senior staff associate for the National Association of State Budget Officers in Washington, D.C., and then returned to Nevada to become budget director under Miller.

In her letter of resignation, she said she enjoyed working with in state government and was grateful for the opportunities given her by Miller and Sen. Richard Bryan. She did not mention Guinn.