"Public utility commissions hold significant sway over state energy systems. Clean energy advocates failed to break through in elections this year."
"The nation veered in a more conservative direction on Election Day, and the few contested races for state-level utility regulators were no exception.
Public utility commissioners vote on crucial decisions for each state’s energy system, like what power plants and gas infrastructure utilities can build, and how much they can charge their customers. In energy-rich Louisiana and sun-drenched Arizona, Democratic candidates with professed commitments to clean energy had a nominal shot at shifting the balance of power on their commissions. In both places, that did not come to pass.
Louisiana’s second district got to vote for a new regulator to replace Craig Greene, a Republican who ultimately championed energy-efficiency measures for electricity customers and supported more renewable energy in the state. “The seat he is in has historically been considered a‘swing’ vote between the two red and two blue districts,” Logan Burke, executive director of the Louisiana consumer advocacy nonprofit Alliance for Affordable Energy, previously told Canary Media."
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