Agency merger proposed by Pearce

Petroleum News Alaska Staff

Sen. Drue Pearce, R-Anchorage, introduced legislation April 1 which would create the Alaska Energy Conservation Commission, merging two of the state’s regulatory agencies, the Alaska Public Utilities Commission and the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

Senate Bill 133 would establish a seven-member commission combining the powers and duties of the APUC and the AOGCC. The five-member APUC regulates public utilities in the state, including communications and common carrier pipelines. The three-member AOGCC regulates oil and gas drilling and field development. Members of the new commission would include a petroleum geologist, a petroleum engineer and five public members who would be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature. At the establishment of the commission, seats would vary from two to six years; thereafter each term would be six years. The chairman, who could be nominated by the commissioners but would be designated by the governor, serves a four-year term as chairman and may not be appointed to successive terms as chairman.

Hearing panels of three or more commissioners would be appointed by the chairman to hear matters coming before it; in oil and gas matters, both the petroleum geologist and the petroleum engineer would be members of the panel. Decisions of a hearing panel appealed to the commission will be heard by a five-member appellate panel of the commission, of which the chairman would be a member.

The commission would have a communications carriers section to handle the regulation of rates, services, accounting and facilities of communications common carriers within the state.