Statehouse watchers will not be surprised by this.

In an unrecorded voice vote, state lawmakers rejected a slate of three nominees for the Public Service Commissioner who represents Lexington County.

That allows four-year incumbent Elliott Elam, Jr., of Lexington to retain his $107,822 position until another election is held, possibly not until next year.

Those who nominate candidates for these jobs have no written rules.

Qualifying as a candidate for the PSC appears straightforward. But the legal employment requirements are broad enough to allow candidates with little or no utility law experience.

The 6-legislator, 10-member Public Utilities Review Committee largely controls regulation of utilities but wings it, one committee member acknowledged.

“It’s pretty much subjective,” Rep. David Mack, D-Charleston said.

The PURC picked the commissioners who approved nine rate increases and signed off on $9 billion in delayed production schedules for the failed SC Electric & Gas nuclear project.

The PURC members meet behind closed doors.

Since last year, lawmakers delayed candidate screening hearings – the public’s best opportunity to learn about candidate qualifications.

Several times, lawmakers forced elections for three open seats to be held on May 10, the last day of the session.

Under state law, candidates are legally qualified if they have at least a bachelor’s degree and a “background of substantial duration and expertise.”

That isn’t defined but it includes eight categories: energy, telecommunications, consumer protection and advocacy, water and wastewater, finance, economics and statistics, accounting, engineering or law.

State law allows candidates to qualify even if they don’t have experience in any of the categories if three-quarters of them agree to it and give “written justification of their decision.”

Mack said he didn’t see a copy of the most-recent written candidate test.

A PURC lawyer declined a Policy Council request for a copy due to a state confidentiality law.

David McCraw of Greer, along with fellow nominee William “Kevin” Newman of Inman, lost the District 4 seat to Thomas Ervin, a former S.C. House member and circuit court judge.

McCraw told The Nerve he sent emails before the election to lawmakers asking them to “look at what the Public Service Commission needs” in the wake of the V.C. Summer debacle, and also to “look at the qualifications of the candidates and pick the candidates who basically had the qualifications that would support and help the Public Service Commission.”