“…a bold move that deserves serious consideration.”

(Please read and share the attached Norwich Bulletin editorial.  Send me your comments at [email protected] – include your name and town – thank you.)

Norwich Bulletin Editorial:  CMEEC needs an overhaul

The fact the majority of the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative’s board of directors chose to disregard the seriousness of the charges brought by the FBI against five of its current and former members is unforgivable.

This week, at its annual meeting, the CMEEC board voted to renew the terms of four individuals who attended the lavish Kentucky Derby trips across four years and to The Greenbrier, a White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., resort and failed to take action that permanently removes CEO Drew Rankin and Chief Financial Officer Edward Pryor from their positions. Norwich’s delegation — Norwich Board of Public Utilities Commission Chairwoman Grace Jones and Vice-Chairman Stewart Peil — voted yes in two, 5-10 roll call votes.

Its actions affirm CMEEC is unwilling to understand its own culpability or empathize with the ratepayers it serves.

It, as State Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, says, has lost its way.

Somers has called for a complete overhaul or elimination of CMEEC – a bold move that deserves serious consideration.

CMEEC – a creation of the state legislature – is a nonprofit owned by Norwich Public Utilities, Groton Utilities, Bozrah Light & Power, Jewett City Department of Public Utilities and two utilities in Norwalk. It was established in 1976 as a publicly directed joint action supply agency and manages power supply contracts, financing, acquisition, construction and operation of generating resources.

Somers is asking the Connecticut’s Energy and Technology Committee to take a closer look at the entire CMEEC statute to clarify its role and include much more transparency.

She’s asking the committee to draft legislation that would, among other things, institute oversight of the agency on “behalf of the ratepayers.”

Measures called for include:

• Making all CMEEC documents, including agreements and contracts, subject to the Freedom of Information Act, without redaction, once such agreements and contracts are executed;

• Requiring that CMEEC’s budget and rates be reviewed and approved by the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority at least once every two years; and

• Making the state attorney general and state Office of Consumer Counsel parties to CMEEC rate cases.

We believe CMEEC’s administrative overhead should be reduced, leaving more revenue to flow to CMEEC member utilities and their downstream ratepayers.

CMEEC also should be directly regulated by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, like retail electric utilities Eversource and United Illuminating.

Beyond oversight, the state should explore the complete elimination of CMEEC.

During CMEEC’s meeting, South Norwalk Electric and Water General Manager and board member Paul Yatcko asked the board to reconsider its appointments in the wake of the indictments.

He said: “As a board we need to face the reality that we may need to move on without Drew Rankin and that we may have seen the last of him. Even if his acts are not judged to be criminal by the federal court, this board must consider his business judgment and his integrity as demonstrated by his conduct as well as what remains of his credibility…. Reappointing the current incumbents in my opinion is certainly not supportable. CMEEC and its members – all of us and our customers have been victimized by the conduct detailed in the indictments and the resulting crisis.”

It’s a shame that only Yatcko and a small minority of CMEEC officials came to this realization – clearly a sign CMEEC’s original mission is not being followed.

http://www.norwichbulletin.com/opinion/20181118/our-view-cmeec-needs-overhaul