2 high-ranking officials ousted from Idaho Public Utilities Commission say agency is ‘not independent’

Stock image BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — Two high-ranking officials ousted from the Idaho Public Utilities Commission have sued the state agency, saying it is “politicized” and “not independent.” The whistleblower lawsuit, filed in October in Ada County District Court, accuses PUC commissioners and a senior staff member of violating the state’s open meeting law, having ex-parte communications with officials from companies with open rate cases, creating a hostile work environment, misusing public funds and retaliating against the two employees for reporting such misconduct. Ex parte refers to a one-sided discussion about the substance of a pending case. Maria Barratt-Riley, the former executive director of the PUC, who had worked at the agency since 2012, and Joshua Haver, a former policy strategist, who moved through the ranks and aspired to eventually become a commissioner himself, are suing the agency, saying they repeatedly voiced concerns and filed reports over misconduct before being wrongfully terminated. Adam Rush, a spokesperson for the PUC, told the Idaho Statesman by email that the commission doesn’t comment on pending litigation and has retained counsel. The lawsuit seeks a jury trial, declarations that the PUC violated the Idaho Whistleblower Act, lost wages, and compensatory damages for emotional distress and reputational harm. Barratt-Riley and Haver filed a tort claim on June 26 before suing. A tort claim is a civil claim made against a state or local government for a wrongful or negligent act. It gives the agency a chance to respond before being sued, though not all plaintiffs follow up unanswered claims by suing. Commissioner ‘erupted in anger,’ lawsuit says The lawsuit alleges that PUC Commissioner John Hammond, who was appointed by Gov. Brad Little to his first term in 2022, would not relinquish access to a utility information system that he should not have had access to as a commissioner. It says Hammond repeatedly admonished Barratt-Riley when she raised concerns about the issue with him and the PUC’s lead deputy attorney general, who confirmed that commissioners should not have access to the unrestricted system. As quasi-judicial decision-makers, commissioners are insulated from accessing or considering the system while deliberating cases before the PUC, according to the lawsuit. “When (Barratt-Riley) noticed processes or conduct that may violate policy or law, she reported the conduct and took care to document its occurrence,” the lawsuit says. Hammond had access to the utility information system in the first place because of his prior role as a deputy attorney general for the PUC, a position that afforded him credentials to review raw data and other documents within the system. When Hammond learned that the PUC secretary had revoked his access, he “erupted in anger” and insisted that neither the secretary nor Barratt-Riley could tell him what information he did or did not have access to, the lawsuit says. Barratt-Riley said that in the years following, Hammond would periodically visit her in her office to express his inability to trust her, and the importance of his trust. The lawsuit alleges he also often accused her of lying to the PUC’s legal department. On April 11, she alleges she was told by PUC Commissioner Edward Lodge that the agency had decided to eliminate her position, and she was promptly escorted out of the building by two security personnel, who prohibited her from collecting her notes, records or other belongings. Haver says being honest ‘put a target on his back’ The lawsuit says Haver repeatedly voiced concerns from 2021 onward that PUC leadership was violating the state’s open meeting law and having ex-parte communications with officials from companies that were actively arguing for rate increases before the PUC. Haver alleges he even witnessed acts of bribery and nepotism. But on April 11, he was fired. In one example, the lawsuit said representatives from Avista, which provides electricity to customers in North Idaho, met with the PUC to share information on the company’s plans to file a rate case. But to prevent quorum among the commissioners, and adhere to the open meeting law, each of the three commissioners — Hammond, Lodge and Eric Anderson, the PUC’s then-president — met with representatives of Avista individually. Haver attended each meeting. During the meetings, utility representatives indicated that Donn English, the agency’s then-program manager, who oversaw the accounting and finance department in the utilities division, had directed the company “concerning postures they should take on applications before the PUC,” according to the lawsuit. In response to that information, Anderson filed a report with human resources for an internal investigation. An investigator interviewed Haver and asked him to write a report with what he knew, and he did. “(Haver)’s truthful participation in the HR investigation put a target on his back,” the lawsuit says. Anderson was replaced by PUC Commissioner Dayn Hardie in February. He was first appointed to the PUC by former Gov. Butch Otter in 2015. Allegations of bribery at whiskey-tasting contest On Feb. 6, Hammond, Lodge and Hardie, who was newly appointed, all met with former PUC Commissioner Paul Kjellander and his client — David Johns, the general manager of Veolia, a French water company that serves the Boise area — at Yard House, a bar and restaurant in Meridian. Veolia is one of the world’s largest water utilities and, at the time of the meeting, was seeking approval from the PUC for a massive rate increase. The company had initially asked to hike its overall rates in the Treasure Valley by about 20%. It eventually settled with the PUC in late May for a near 12% increase, raising the company’s annual revenue by $7 million. Most residential customers saw their monthly water bills increase by 12.4% in June, the Idaho Statesman previously reported. After learning of the meeting between Johns and the commissioners, the lawsuit said, Haver reported the violation to Barratt-Riley. They both requested that the commissioners ensure meetings held with parties to rate cases be reported in compliance with the state’s open meeting law. The lawsuit alleges another instance of misconduct in February, when English, the program manager, who was tasked with managing the settlement with Veolia, attended a national industry conference in Washington D.C. It says that during an after-hours gathering hosted by Kjellander, English offered Jim Cagel, the vice president of rates and regulatory affairs at Veolia, special consideration on the settlement of the utility company’s open rate case. English allegedly offered Cagel multiple discrete, favorable and substantial terms on the pending settlement in exchange for Cagel’s help in winning the “Whiskey Caucus,” a competition among attendees of the conference. Participants who bring a bottle of whiskey most favored by those attending, as evidenced by the first bottle emptied, are declared the year’s victor. “… English propositioned Jim Cagle: ‘If you drink my whiskey … I will make sure the settlement … gets settled under four hours and you get 200 basis points,’” the lawsuit says. “The promise of favorable settlement terms on an open rate case in exchange for personal acclaim in a whiskey contest is corrupt, unlawful, unethical and wrong.” Veolia sent a statement to the Statesman on Monday, Nov. 17, after this story was published, which said: “Veolia is aware of the allegations contained in this lawsuit, which does not involve Veolia. These allegations do not reflect the professional standards of Veolia and its employees. Veolia enforces strong corporate compliance rules when interacting with regulators, wherever we operate. In this specific case, the lawsuit does not allege any misconduct by any Veolia employee, and Veolia is unaware of any reason to believe its employees have done anything improper.” Whistleblowers say efforts to report misconduct were futile The lawsuit also says that Barratt-Riley and Haver reported to the commissioners in February that the meetings they were having with representatives of Idaho Power and other utility companies needed to be posted publicly, particularly when the PUC anticipated applications from the companies. But the plaintiffs say their efforts to report misconduct to the human resources representative assigned to the PUC were futile. Idaho Power filed an application with the PUC in May for a 13.1% hike to its overall rates. The average residential customer using 900 kilowatt-hours per month would have seen their bill rise by about $21.66 a month, or 17.4%, if it was approved as-is. The company also proposed increasing the residential service charge from $15 to $25. A customer hearing on the proposal is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 20, in Boise. Under the settlement, which is set to take effect on Jan. 1, the average residential customer will see their monthly bill rise by $12.13, or 9.7%. The rate increase raises Idaho Power’s annual revenue by $110 million, according to the company. The post 2 high-ranking officials ousted from Idaho Public Utilities Commission say agency is ‘not independent’ appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com