The newest member of the state
Public Service Commission expects a challenging, fun time in the years ahead. Former Kanawha
County
McCabe, who was appointed to the three-member
commission last month by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, said recently he likes
crunching the numbers on technical issues. He said he finds that kind of work
“challenging and fun.”
“Most people look at that with dread and say,
‘I’ll look at the concepts but I get confused in the numbers,’ I like to tie
the numbers with the concepts and the more complicated and challenging, in some
cases, the more interest I have,” McCabe said.
He’s right. When McCabe served in
the state Senate with Gov. Tomblin, who was the Senate president at the time,
Tomblin would often lean on McCabe to lead the discussion on technical issues
like workers’ compensation reform and finding a funding stream to pay down the
debt on Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB).
When Tomblin came calling for a PSC
appointment McCabe said it took him about two weeks to accept and he’s glad he
did. McCabe said he’s long thought the PSC is one of the most important
operations in the state because it regulates so much that is tied to economic
development from motor carriers, to natural gas pipelines to utility service.
“These are really extremely
significant decisions that will affect the state for a generation, McCabe
said.”When the opportunity afforded itself to actually participate in a
meaningful way I thought this was something I could do and hopefully do well
and make a significant contribution hopefully in the development of the state.”
The former four-term senator joins
PSC Chairman Mike Albert and Commissioner John McKinney. McCabe started work
Nov. 15 and he said he’s already noticed the quality of the PSC staff.
“Sometimes there will be difficult
decisions and you have to kind of work through the process and I’m extremely
thankful for the quality of staff here—the due diligence they do, framing the
issues putting the data in place, all of that is so vital to making the right
decisions. It ought to be a fun, challenging next couple of years,” according
to McCabe.
In the end, the new commissioner said
the decisions made by the PSC are connected to state residents.
“You’ve got to make decisions that
can be understood, internalized and accepted. That’s the end game, how does it
affect the state and its citizens,” McCabe said.
McCabe decided not to seek reelection to the Senate this year.
His seat, which is empty for the time being, was won by Republican Tom Takubo.
