By Charlotte Lane Chair, WV Public Service Commission
The Public Service Commission has a process so you can file comments on any case pending before the Commission.
We welcome all comments and encourage you to file your viewpoint in any case in which you have an interest. It is your right and is seen by us as a barometer of public thinking.
If you go to our webpage at www.psc.state.wv.us, you will see a yellow field on the left. Go to the fifth choice down and click the “submit a comment” button.
The resulting screen will give you a choice. The first is to file a general comment, which is at the top. The second choice is a comment directly related to a specific case, which is located at the bottom of that page.
The prompts under either category are simple to follow and will allow you to file your comments.
Let me discuss with you a second option. This involves a formal case before the Commission and might be of greater interest to you.
Since your statement will be posted on a public site, we ask that you agree your comments will be subject-appropriate and not profane. If you agree to that, you go to another page.
This page is aimed at assisting you and the staff of the Commission to find the case in which you are interested.
There you will find a list of high-profile cases pending before the Commission. This option gives you the number of the case that caught your eye and the utility involved to help make your search easier.
The second option allows you to search by case number, which is the way we generally identify a case, by its number.
The first two digits of the six-number case number represent the year in which the case was filed. For example, a case filed this year would begin with 25-, then four more digits. These last four begin with 0001 and work up to 1000. And simply designate the numerical order in which a case is filed.
For example, the first case filed this year would be tabulated as 25-0001, and so forth.
A third option allows you to search for specific criteria to find the case in which you have an interest.
We then ask you to match your comments to the number of the case you want to discuss. That way, we can ensure your comments are filed with that case and are correctly posted on our website with that case.
It’s not uncommon for a utility to have more than one case pending before the Commission in a year. For example, a water company may have both a water and a sewer case filed at the same time and related to the same locality.
You wouldn’t want your sewer comments to be filed with the water case and so forth. We want to make sure that your comments get to the right case.
Take a look at our system. We do want to hear from you. And work at making this process easier for you. Give it a try. I think you’ll like it.
