In a guest editorial (“Taxes on domestic oil won’t help energy woes”, Missoulian, August 31, 2007), Montana Public Service Commissioner Doug Mood makes numerous assertions about our co-dependent relationship with the oil industry. Mood correctly observes (as have countless public officials before him) that our nation is dangerously dependent on foreign oil. His error lies not in the diagnosis, but in the remedy he appears to offer: 1) a heavy emphasis on supply-side solutions—i.e. drilling our way out of the problem, and 2) a belief in trickle down oil economics—i.e. what’s good for Exxon is good for consumers.

In reality, the biggest problem is this nation’s over-dependence on oil from any source, due to the needless waste of our precious natural and financial resources, through inefficient technology.

Rather than protecting tax breaks for large energy corporations, we should emphasize sensible and reliable solutions. First, we must eliminate wasted energy by improving energy-efficiency. Second, we need to increase the use of Montana-based renewable fuels that support local communities, farms and ranches, without polluting our air and water.

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The PSC regulates monopolies allowed by the legislature, most notably those involved in the distribution of electricity and natural gas. It is comprised of five commissioners who are elected from five regions across Montana.

My opponent, Doug Mood (R-Seeley Lake), who currently sits on the PSC, was an ardent supporter of electric deregulation. He voted for deregulation during the 1997 legislative session and defended it in subsequent sessions. 

Deregulation has been a disaster and all Montanans are living with the consequences of this hastily made, little-debated legislation. Deregulation was pushed through by high-paid corporate lobbyists, even as consumer and conservation advocacy groups voiced strong opposition.

As a result of deregulation, Montana lost its enviable position as a state with some of the lowest energy costs in the country and Montana consumers are now paying the price. 

The PSC has a critical role in defining the future of energy development and it is quietly making decisions on a day-to-day basis which will shape the future.

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Gail Gutsche explains that she is running for the Public Service Commission because “this is a really critical time for a change in the energy future of Montana.”

She said she will work to help find solutions to the dramatic price increases consumers have seen since the Montana legislature deregulated electricity.

But her vision goes well beyond that.

“We need to think about how we’re going to do energy in the future and clearly it’s going to be in a carbon-constrained world--Congress is going to set carbon standards,” she said. “I want to help create jobs for Montanans, and help shield them from the expected dramatic increases in fossil-fuel-based electricity. Montana has the opportunity to bring back fair and reasonable utility rates, but we can’t do it by maintaining the status quo.”

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