Within a small dark room in the back of the Tangipahoa Parish Library, two Hammond citizens spoke with Eric Skrmetta about their concerns with Louisiana’s public services.
Skrmetta serves as the commissioner of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, and every month he travels throughout his 11-parish district where he meets with consumers and tells them about big things that the state government has going on. However, these meetings usually devolve into small one-on-ones where citizens discuss with Skrmetta the problems they have with specific services.
“I do this for my district, and I know that other commissioners do different things,” said Skrmetta. “We regulate all non-municipal utilities in the state, so unless they are controlled by a city council, we regulate them. Electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, water, wastewater, and we do a lot of work with consumers on transportation issues.  We handle basically any consumer issues with these services.”
If a consumer has a complaint against a utility, Skrmetta’s office brings the complaint to the service provider and will work with them and the consumer to resolve the matter.
“We try to do this as much as possible and an amicable dispute and resolution versus having to litigate it into the administrative law process,” said Skrmetta. “The administrative judge will render a decision in the dispute and the commission would then act as a court of appeals. After that, if the consumer is not happy, they can go to the 19th Judicial District Court or to the Supreme Court for an appeal.”
While these talks are meant to protect consumers, Skrmetta is not able to market them effectively due to budget cuts. Because of this, there is almost always a low turnout.
“The governor and the legislature have swept the commissions ‘excess’ funds,” said Skrmetta. “The funds are not excess, they are generated by fees on services paid for by consumers, not taxes. If we have the money we’re supposed to have, we are able to better notify people about these talks.”
Cecilia Giannobile and Howard Edwards of Hammond were the only ones who brought complaints to the meeting. Craig Schimpf, a representative of Entergy, attended to answer any questions that came up about his company.  Edwards and Giannobile’s presented concerns with cell phone towers and cable television services.
“I have an issue with the cable company and with local calling from Tangipahoa Parish to New Orleans and Baton Rouge,” said Giannobile. “I’m concerned about senior citizens and the rates that we have to pay. I think we should have to pay at the local level for this service and not pay a long distance fee.”
Giannobile has been in contact with Skrmetta about this issue for some time and is confident that his office will be able to resolve it effectively. However, she is disappointed in the size of the meetings and apparent lack of interest.
“He’s a lawyer, and he knows how to meander around it, I guess,” she said. “However, I would like to see more people at these meetings. I think more community awareness is necessary.”
For more information on the Louisiana Public Service Commission, visit lpsc.org