COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, on Monday, appointed Steven Lesser as a commissioner of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio for a five-year term beginning April 11, 2010 and expiring April 10, 2015, according to a media release.
Lesser, a resident of the small but affluent city of Bexley near Downtown Columbus, is currently the chief of staff at the PUCO. He has held this position, from which he directs the daily operations of the agency and advises agency staff on policies to follow in cases, rulemaking and enforcement action, since September 2007.
“Steven has served the PUCO in numerous capacities for the past 30 years. He is well-regarded by his colleagues and he understands the issues facing utilities and customers in Ohio,” Strickland said in prepared remarks. “Steven’s deep knowledge will continue to be an asset to the PUCO in his new role as commissioner.”
“I have enjoyed the opportunity to work within several areas at the PUCO during my three decades at the commission,” Lesser said, adding, “I look forward to building on these experiences and continuing my work in this new capacity.”
In picking Lesser instead of one of the other three candidates sent to him by a special nominating council that screens candidates for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, two of whom had strong credentials in representing consumer groups, Strickland guarantees the PUCO will maintain its profile as a group more pro utility company than pro consumer.
Strickland could have reshaped PUCO in 2007
After only a couple months in office, Strickland was given an opportunity in April of 2007 to reshape the powerful five-member board that regulates electricity, gas, telephone, water and commercial transportation when then Attorney General Marc Dann asked three key members to resign based on his assessment that they had been illegally nominated in secret.
Dann, who was forced from office after a scandal involving a trist he had with a staffer and behavior by other key agency leaders became public, said the special 12-member PUCO Nominating Council that recommends four people to the governor to fill vacancies met behind closed doors and voted by secret ballot. Dan said at the time that they violated the state's Open Meetings Act, also known as the Sunshine Law, which requires decisions by public bodies to be made in open meetings.
At the time, a spokesman for the Ohio Environmental Council said in published reports, "The decisions we've watched have officially been public, but the dirty little secret is that the utility industry wields a disproportionate amount of clout."
Ohio Citizen Action spokeswoman Catherine Turcer called on Strickland to seize the opportunity and reshape it: "Why not rethink the whole process? Why not open the process to public comment? This is the right time. …What you want to have at the PUCO is accountability to consumers."
Janine Migden Ostrander, the utility watchdog for Ohio residential customers, said at the time that the PUCO had not been consumer-friendly for years.
One of the nominees Strickland could have appointed was economist and utility expert Wilson Gonzalez of Worthington, who since 2004 has served as the senior regulatory analyst for the Ohio Consumers' Counsel.
Lesser will replace long-time Commissioner Ronda Hartman Fergus, who will finish her third term at the PUCO and leave in April.
As chief of staff, Lesser has also been critically involved in the implementation of the new electric regulation bill, smart grid initiatives, and the implementation of “green” rules, which includes means for encouraging the development of alternative energy businesses in Ohio.
Lesser has served PUCO in numerous roles since 1979, including attorney examiner/administration law judge from 1979-1986, deputy director of the transportation department from 1986-1998, and assistant director of the legal department from 1998-2007. Lesser received a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1975 and a law degree from Capital University in 1978.
The PUCO board has five members, each of whom serve five years. The official salary range is $73,715 to $157,955. The salaries of the current five members range between $97,000 and $125,000.
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