Friday, January 13th, 2006...5:10 pm
Some Questions for Arizona Public Service
Is it okay for me to write nice things about a Republican? Gawd. Maybe there is something wrong with me. Maybe I need some meds. You know, the really good ones.
I wrote before about Corporation Commissioner Kris Mayes and her doubts about Arizona Public Service’s request for a 14% “emergency” rate increase. Mayes has now sent APS a letter that shows that she has some serious doubts about whether APS looked at other cost cutting measures.
She starts out right away with a challenge that will warm the hearts of every populist:
As you know, in 2004 APS paid to its top executives more than $3 million in bonuses, on top of the base salaries that these executives received.
Tell ‘em about it. Hit ‘em where it hurts. Let everybody know. Fear baby, fear…
Sorry…she continues:
Have top managers considered forgoing some or all of their bonuses for 2005 and 2006 to reflect the performance of Company management and to help defray some of the costs the Company is seeking as part of its rate filings? If not, please explain why.
Yes, please explain why if your company is doing poorly, the execs are still getting rewarded. We are waiting.
And more…
Similarly, I would like to know whether the Company has contemplated cutbacks in non-essential travel in 2006, including but not limited to any first-class travel by company executives. If not, please explain why.
Beautiful. I am in love with this woman. Is that wrong?
She further points out that APS is still spending large amounts of money on advertising, even though they are a monopoly. She also asks if the company has contemplated dividend cuts and why other units of Pinnacle West have been given capital infusions, but not APS. I have a feeling it is because they thought they could roll the rate hike through the Corporation Commission.
I’m sure that some will argue that Mayes is being overly punitive to APS. People that make this argument miss the whole point in our having a Corporation Commission. They are there to make sure that the rate payers are protected from companies that just see them as a cash cow. She sees her role, as have our more successful commissioners in the past, as making sure that a company has exhausted all other means of cost saving before working families bear the burden of their business decisions. When a consumer is paying their bill, they would like to know it actually is paying for power, and not paying for some exec’s travel. Let the company swallow the costs of the frills and let them explain it to share holders.
3 Comments
January 13th, 2006 at 7:27 pm
I’m in love with this woman too!
I’ll never forget this article I read years ago in which a Japanese writer was comparing the salaries of Japanese executives with those of American executives. Apparently, the American executives were getting a gazillion (spelling?)dollars more then the Japanese executives. This writer thought it particularly absurd/illogical that American executives who were LOSING money for the companies or doing a bad job were still getting a gazillion dollars. Where are the boards of directors for these companies???
January 14th, 2006 at 2:49 am
Off not paying attention to the company they “direct”
January 14th, 2006 at 6:34 pm
The problem is that with five Republicans on the Corporation Commission, Mayes (who, if they can’t corral with the rest of them, the Republicans will segregate by pointing out that she was Gov. Napolitano’s press secretary before being appointed to this position), becomes a lone voice in the wilderness. For her to be effective, we need to get at least two more positions, who are either Democrats or at least like minded Republicans, and both of these are uphill struggles, as recent elections for the commission have showed.