With election day looming, Gov. Wolf and Republicans agree to fill three seats on depleted Pa. utility commission

Gov. Tom Wolf and Pennsylvania Senate Republicans have set aside a longstanding dispute that has depleted the membership of the Public Utility Commission, setting the stage for three nominations to the commission, including the reappointment of a Republican whose term is set to run out soon.

The three nominations include two Democrats and Republican John F. Coleman Jr., the longest tenured commissioner who was first appointed in 2010. Coleman’s term expired in April, and he is allowed by law to remain in office for six months if no replacement is named.

Coleman will be forced to depart the PUC on Oct. 1, leaving the commission with only two remaining members out of five seats. That’s potentially an opportunity for the winner of the November gubernatorial election, either Josh Shapiro, the Democratic candidate, or Doug Mastriano, the Republican, to revamp the commission next year in a single stroke.

In addition to Coleman’s renomination, Wolf on Wednesday submitted the name of Stephen M. DeFrank, a principal in the government relations practice of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney law firm, who formerly was chief of staff for State Sen. Lisa Boscola (D., Northhampton). The third nominee is Katie L. Zerfuss, the deputy secretary for legislative affairs in Wolf’s office.

The PUC is a low-profile agency with immense power. It sets rates for the state’s largest electric, gas, water, and wastewater utilities and also has some regulatory oversight for pipelines, telecommunications, railroads, and taxis. Its policies impact environmental issues, low-income assistance programs, and the state’s attractiveness to private investors.

“It’s not sexy, but those issues are so important to everybody in the state,” said Boscola, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee, which will consider the nominations.

PUC members serve staggered five-year terms, and no more than three of the five members can be from one political party, assuring some bipartisan representation. Commissioners are paid $161,899 a year. The chairman, who is appointed by the governor, earns an additional $2,500.

Senate Republicans have declined to act on Wolf’s nominations to the PUC for several years to protest his decision to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multistate carbon pricing agreement that fossil-fuel advocates say will drive up the cost of electricity. The governor’s order to join RGGI is currently on hold while the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reviews the legality of Wolf’s action.

Boscola said the new appointments were sorted out in recent weeks through horse-trading over a number of pending state appointments, including members of the governing boards overseeing the recent consolidation of six state universities.

One reappointment said to be part of the package is the expired Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission seat of Pasquale T. Deon Sr., a Republican businessman from Bucks County who is also chairman of the SEPTA board. Deon continues to serve on the turnpike commission until an appointment is made.

Sen. Robert Tomlinson, a Bucks County Republican who is chairman of the Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee, did not respond to a request for comment. Nor did Sen. Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland), the Senate majority leader, who was closely involved in negotiations over the appointments.

Leaders of both parties were under pressure from advocates to fill the vacancies, which would have left the commission evenly split after Oct. 1 between two members, one from each party. A tie vote on rate matters is counted as “no decision,” which would automatically award a utility its entire rate-increase request. A full commission could later roll back the rate increase.

Without fresh appointments, the winner of the governor’s election in November would not only get to nominate replacements for the three vacant seats, but also a fourth seat that is scheduled to expire in April 2023, held by the commission’s chair, Gladys Brown Dutrieuille, a Democrat. Under that scenario, a new governor could dramatically reshape the commission.

The utility industry has been pressing for party leaders to call a truce to the political impasse that has held up PUC appointments for several years, arguing that the industries regulated by the PUC need continuity.

“The more the commission is depleted like that, there’s an air of uncertainty hanging over the agency, and maybe to some extent over its decisions, too,” said Terrence J. Fitzpatrick, president of the Energy Association of Pennsylvania, the trade group for electric and gas utilities.

“Continuity is very important to our folks, because it’s important to the investment community,” said Fitzpatrick. “They don’t want to see the risk of really abrupt changes.”

Party leaders hope to complete the appointments by the end of October. “We respect the Senate’s confirmation process and we’re hopeful that the Senate will confirm these qualified candidates quickly,” a spokesperson for Wolf said.

Boscola said time is running out to get the appointments through the Senate in October before the election. “I’m not going to say that there’s a 100% guarantee, but I think we’re 95% there,” she said.