BY JIM BARON

PROVIDENCE — Having already called for the ouster of PUC Chairman Elia Germani, branding his recent decisions “costly, arbitrary and anti-consumer,” Sen. John Tassoni now wants the attorney general and State Police to investigate the commission’s hiring of consultants.

Tassoni’s latest broadside against the Public Utilities Commission was prompted by reports that the commission paid a law firm $350,000 to work on a recent rate case, largely on Germani’s say-so.
 “This is not only an excessive amount of money for a private firm, but the decision to do so was made arbitrarily and single-handedly by Mr. Germani,” Tassoni said in a press release. “That not only flies in the face of the other members of the commission, who should be working as a team, but it is also a slap in the face of the many qualified lawyers employed by the state, including the PUC’s own staff attorneys.”According to state law, the PUC is allowed to spend no more than $250,000 on proceedings in a single year. Germani and the law firm, Partridge, Snow and Hahn, got around the law by spreading the payments over three years.
“I don’t care how they play with their books to make it look legal,” Tassoni said, “it is still wrong. Spending someone else’s money has just become too easy for many of the administrators appointed by this governor.
“The amount of money that can be spent in hiring outside counsel in any given year (is) clearly outlined in the law,” Tassoni added. “In this particular case, I believe those laws were ignored. Taxpayers need action. Taxpayers need accountability. They need to know that their interests are the prime concern of the PUC, not the interests of private firms.”
To the argument that the costs would be borne by the utility, in this case National Grid because it involved natural gas rates, and ultimately ratepayers, Tassoni said: “The
state’s taxpayers are the ratepayers. I don’t buy the argument that the cost will be absorbed by the utility and ratepayers, as if somehow that state’s taxpayers are not going to end up with the bill.”
“The taxpayers of this state deserve better,” Tassoni asserted, “and I believe a formal investigation of this matter will, at the very least, help allay the fears of the taxpayers that their money is not being used improperly.
Tassoni told Attorney General Patrick Lynch and the State Police in a letter that “the laws of the State of Rhode Island pose certain requirements and limitations with regard to the hiring of consultants and attorneys” and asked that a probe be launched into Mr. Germani’s “actions as to whether he followed the open competitive bidding process defined by the General Laws.”
Beryl Kenyon, spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, said Tassoini’s letter arrived at their office on Tuesday. “It has to be thoroughly reviewed and we will respond accordingly.” Kenyon said it is unclear when a decision about launching an investigation might be made.
“If Mr. Germani is not looking out for the ratepayers and the taxpayers, both, in all that he does at the PUC, he should not be doing this job any longer,” the senator said.
“This individual has shown repeatedly, in several recent decisions and actions, that he is not a proponent of the consumers,” Tassoni declared, demanding that Germani resign immediately. “If Mr. Germani refuses to leave this position on his own, I believe Gov. Donald Carcieri should replace Mr. Germani with a PUC Chairman who will work harder for the people of the state.”Germani was not available for comment on Wednesday. A message left with the governor’s office seeking comment was not returned on Wednesday.
Tassoni said it appears the decision to hire an outside firm and spend “an exorbitant amount of money” was made solely by Mr. Germani “with the approval of the executive counsel to the governor. Two people essentially approved spending $350,000 of taxpayer money. That is not the way government should work.”