Earlier this week, published reports surfaced that a whistleblower had accused former Arizona Corporation Commissioner Gary Pierce of some questionable decisions related to businesses he was involved with regulating.
One of the allegations against Pierce is that he met on a number of occasions, including for lunch, with Arizona Public Service CEO Don Brandt.
The Corporation Commission sets APS’ electric rates.
To find out more about what can happen when regulators appear to cozy up with a utility or business they’re regulating, we turned to Patrick McLaughlin, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He says the concept of regulatory capture is a key.