The NGO/Corporation/Regulator Revolving Door
Chairman Blank is a prime example of this
It takes a thief to catch a thief.
— FDR on why he appointed Joseph Kennedy chair of the SEC
Eric Blank’ Work History
You can see more detail on the PUC site and on LinkedIn. But here’s a summary
1991 - 2001 :: Director, Western Resource Advocates. they are a non-profit clean energy group that developed many of the initial public policies and other approaches that first made it economically possible for electric utilities in the inter-mountain and desert Southwest to begin investing in clean energy technologies.
2001 - 2009 :: EVP, Community Energy, Inc => Avangrid. Ultimately managed the development to construction of over 700 MW of wind energy, representing a roughly $1.5 billion investment.
2009 - 2018 :: Community Energy Solar => AES. CES has helped accelerate the deployment of solar at scale placing in service 1,500 MW of new solar projects representing $2 billion in invested capital.
2019 - 2020 :: CE Ventures. {Couldn’t find anything about it, may not have done much.}
2021 - Present :: Chairman Colorado PUC
So to sum up:
Spent 10 years running a NGO that lobbied to favor wind + solar in government regulations and I would guess, subsidies.
Spent 20 years building out wind + solar, based in part on the legislation & regulation they got passed.
Now spending 5 years regulating energy generation, under a state “pathway” that is focused on wind + solar.
Balance
I’m all in favor of commissioners that know the industry. The problem is you need to be careful that first, you have balance on this. And second, you’re getting people with the right experience and preferences. For example, having someone from the coal generation part of the industry who still believes in coal, not someone we want.
FDR hired Kennedy because he knew Wall St. But he also hired him because Kennedy clearly saw the value in regulating the stock market. That combination is what made him a great SEC chair.
In the case of Eric Blank, there’s nothing in his background or his statements that I’m aware of that shows even an acknowledgement of nuclear power. I’m guessing he must know a little of batteries but his support for wind + solar + pixie dust leads me to believe he doesn’t understand that part of the package.1
Now if Gilman & Plant were not wallflowers, then it could balance out. Gilman has a background in the utility industry and experience with the gas component. So good balance if she was active. And the third should be someone from the nuclear power side.2
Regulatory Capture
But our present situation is someone who’s spent 35 years all in on wind + solar. That’s regulatory capture. Let’s look at his meetings with the WRA (the organization he was Director of for 10 years):
27 August 2021 :: 7:30am - 9:00am
1 September 2021 :: 11:30am - 12:30pm
9 September 2021 :: 4:30pm - 6:00pm
{nothing in 2022 - go figure…}
24 February 2023 :: 7:30am - 8:45 am
31 May 2023 :: 2:30pm - 3:20pm
15 June 2023 :: 12:30pm - 1:30pm
26 June 2023 :: 8:15am - 9:30am
12 June 2024 :: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
10 October 2024 :: 8:00am - 9:00am
To give you an idea of what these meetings are about, here’s the description of the 10 October 2024 meeting:
Personal catch up; Potential legislation; Broader issues surrounding the relationship between affordability and emissions reduction; GHG tracking and reporting in the west; Regional markets issues; General processes of the PUC.
Keep in mind WRA is also a declared party for many energy issues before the PUC and they testify in the meetings on those issues. The above is just Chairman Blank and the WRA discussing everything big picture one on one. Approximately every 4 months.
The Result
If wind + solar + pixie dust is the best goal for this state, then what we have here is perfect. Eric lobbied for the laws, so he could then build the wind/solar farms, so he can now regulate to increase the wind/solar farms. If that’s what you want it’s a virtuous cycle.
If it’s not what you want, it’s regulatory capture. And this setup is pretty much, by definition, impervious to any arguments that identify problems with the blessed approach.
It also tends to allow, and often encourage, sub-optimal solutions for the desired approach. If wind & solar don’t have to compete with nuclear, that allows them to be lazy. They’ve got this. Guaranteed. And then it costs more with inferior products that take longer to install.
I think what we’re getting with this is Eric Blank driving us off the cliff, the whole time knowing he’s taking us to a carbon free nirvana.
I asked Commissioner Blank for an interview so he could address these questions before I posted this blog. He declined.
Plant’s background strikes me as a generic wind + solar + pixie dust advocate.