The Louisiana Public Service Commission is investigating exorbitant telephone rates charged to families of inmates in Louisiana jails and prisons. What we have found suggests that rates for calls from inmates to their families and fees added to bills are extreme compared to rates for calls on the outside. These high charges raise legal and […]
It has become obvious to me that Bobby Jindal sees Louisiana in his rear-view mirror. That’s a real shame. Our state has problems in every direction – crumbling roads and bridges, colleges facing cuts and raising tuition, coastal erosion, threatened LSU teaching hospitals and the worst poverty in the United States. Add to the list […]
Who can forget the summer of 2011? The National Weather Service office in Shreveport says 2011 was one of the warmest years on record for many locations across Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Our region suffered below-normal rainfall during the 2011 spring, followed by record heat and exceptional drought conditions throughout much of the summer […]
It’s sad but true: In politics today compromise has become a dirty word. Yet few issues are so clear that there is no room for compromise. At the Public Service Commission, even the tiniest adjustment in electric, gas or telephone rates can mean millions of dollars to the monopoly utility companies and their captive customers. […]
Preliminary statistics compiled by the Louisiana Public Service Commission on utility customers generating their own electricity provide a glimpse into the steady growth of solar power in our state. The commission staff’s draft numbers on “net-metering” installations show a total of 1,350 Louisiana homes, businesses and institutions with solar, wind or other forms of “distributed” […]
Throughout my political service, in the Louisiana Senate and now on the state Public Service Commission, I have worked hard to remain independent of the special interests that enjoy so much influence in government. It has not been easy. Business interests hold great sway over government officials, in Baton Rouge, Washington, D.C., and in state […]
How much is too much? My main responsibility as a member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission is to ensure that the people and businesses of Louisiana have safe, reliable utility service at the lowest possible cost. Giving that assurance requires me to balance the revenue needs of utility companies with the impact of utility […]
There is an old blues song that goes, “You don’t miss your water ‘til the well runs dry.” Soul singer and Shreveport native Rueben Bell recorded a version, as did Otis Redding and others. The songwriter was relating a love lost to how we often take water for granted despite its importance to life. We […]
Customers of Shreveport-based Southwestern Electric Power Co. will be the first in Louisiana to buy their electricity from a renewable power source as part of a statewide experiment sponsored by the Louisiana Public Service Commission. And contrary to historical trends in green power, this electricity will save consumers money rather than be more expensive than […]
On December 14 the Louisiana Public Service Commission will meet for the first time in its 100-year history in the town of Winnfield. This is an important event for the PSC, which sets utility rates for Louisiana consumers. It’s also important for Winnfield, the parish seat of Winn Parish and home to nearly 6,000 people. […]