SCANA executives knew they could lead the Public Service Commission around by the nose. As a lawyer with the environmental organization Sierra Club, I argued before the Public Service Commission against rate hikes that allowed the failed nuclear project to move forward.

As conservation interveners, we challenged the wisdom of the project but couldn’t possibly peel back the onion to see what we now know to be the truth behind the scenes: A rogue utility defrauded its ratepayers and lied about the project.

The federal plea deal with SCANA executive Kevin Marsh and Stephen Byrne reinforces the need for more oversight.

The jury is still out on whether we learned our lesson about the need for aggressive oversight of monopoly utilities.

Will the PSC and consumer protection reforms prove adequate to assure an affordable and responsible clean energy future?

The Chronicle got it right about the SCANA and PSC failures.

Bob Guild, Columbia