Gov. Greg Abbott has accepted Public Utility Commission Chair Arthur D’Andrea’s resignation.
Public Utility Commission Chair Arthur D’Andrea, the only remaining member of the three-seat board that regulates Texas utilities, is resigning from his post, Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday night.
Abbott said in a statement that he asked for and accepted D’Andrea’s resignation and plans to name “a replacement in the coming days who will have the responsibility of charting a new and fresh course for the agency.” D’Andrea’s resignation will be effective immediately upon the appointment of a successor, according to a copy of D’Andrea’s resignation letter that was obtained by The Texas Tribune.
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HOUSTON (Reuters) - The Texas attorney general on Wednesday said state law allows the utilities regulator to cut billions of dollars from storm-inflated electric bills, an endorsement that came hours after the ouster of the regulator who opposed retroactive cuts.
FILE PHOTO: An electrical substation is seen after winter weather caused electricity blackouts in Houston, Texas, U.S. February 20, 2021. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo
The drive to reverse $4.1 billion in emergency prices gained momentum after a magazine published inflammatory comments by Public Utility Commission Chair Arthur D’Andrea. In a March 9 call with Bank of America analysts and investors, he said he “tipped the scale” to protect utility profits. He also minimized the financial pain caused by storm pricing to municipal power companies.
Gov. Greg Abbott has accepted Public Utility Commission Chair Arthur D Andrea s resignation.
Public Utility Commission Chair Arthur D Andrea, the only remaining member of the three-seat board that regulates Texas utilities, is resigning from his post, Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday night.
Abbott said in a statement that he asked for and accepted D Andrea s resignation and plans to name a replacement in the coming days who will have the responsibility of charting a new and fresh course for the agency. D Andrea s resignation will be effective immediately upon the appointment of a successor, according to a copy of D Andrea s resignation letter that was obtained by The Texas Tribune.
There’s no one left on Texas’ Public Utility Commission after final board member resigns at Gov. Greg Abbott’s request
Texas Tribune
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Public Utility Commission Chair Arthur D Andrea has resigned, Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed Tuesday night.
D Andrea was the only remaining member of the three-seat commission that regulates the state s electric, telecommunication and water and sewer utilities. The other two commissioners, including the chair at the time, DeAnn Walker, had resigned in recent weeks over fallout related to last month s winter storm. Tonight, I asked for and accepted the resignation of PUC Commissioner Arthur D’Andrea, the governor said in a statement, adding that he plans to name a replacement in the coming days who will have the responsibility of charting a new and fresh course for the agency.
Regulator said he tipped the scale to avoid power-price cuts State AG says electricity repricing likely upheld in court (Adds AG opinion on repricing, officials react, PUC no comment)
By Kanishka Singh and Gary McWilliams
March 17 (Reuters) - The third and last remaining commissioner of the Texas utilities regulator resigned under pressure on Tuesday after the release of comments to investors vowing to protect utility profits and dismissing financial hits from a cold snap on municipal power companies.
The resignation came soon after the disclosure of inflammatory comments by the Public Utility Commission Chair Arthur D Andrea in a March 9 call with Bank of America utilities analysts. The call took place two days before he was to consider rescinding billions of dollars payment to utilities and included him boasting of his job security.