"It’s going to simply be an absurd spectacle," PSC revisits pay disclosure before water rate increase

Public Service Commissioner Travis Kavulla predicts that a public hearing slated for later this spring to hash out Mountain Water Company’s rate-increase request will devolve into a scene.

"It’s going to simply be an absurd spectacle," says Kavulla, who’s one of five PSC members charged with vetting rate-increase requests from public utilities such as Missoula’s Mountain Water.

The public hearing on Mountain Water’s request is going to draw attention, Kavulla says, because ratepayers are currently forbidden from learning how much many state-regulated utilities pay their executives. That means the public won’t be allowed to participate in a discussion about the role executive compensation plays in rate setting. "Literally, the press and the public will have to be cleared from the room," Kavulla says.

by Jessica Mayrer

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