"I think the role that she had and the bills that she worked on were overstated," Atkinson said. "I thought that it was admirable when HB320 came up, she made the decision to go to her supervisor and say that she couldn't work on that bill. It is problematic that she did work for (US WEST), but I don't think that it will affect what she does for us."

Richard Drake, a Millcreek resident, said he had no confidence in Reberg's ability to take on Utah's monopoly utilities — specifically PacifiCorp and Questar Gas — and was disappointed in learning of her confirmation.

Drake added that he did not understand the governor's rationale in appointing Reberg and said he feared the governor had been swayed by "major utilities who annually spend thousands of ratepayer dollars lobbying the governor's office and the state Legislature."

"The greatest compliment earned by (fired director) Roger Ball is that he was feared," Drake said. "That position takes an extreme amount of knowledge, and it takes someone of absolute integrity. It takes someone who literally can stare the devil in the eye and not be manipulated."

But while Ball may have been feared, Geddes believes Reberg has a far too cozy relationship with utility lobbyists and executives. Ted Smith, a former vice president of Qwest, spoke on Reberg's behalf during a hearing held by the committee in March.

The six-member committee was created by the Utah Legislature in 1977 and is charged with protecting the interests of consumers and small businesses in utility rate cases.

The committee has maintained that since its formation it has saved ratepayers roughly $1 billion in electricity, natural gas and phone rate hikes that would have been passed on to consumers had it not been for the committee's advocacy.

Geddes predicts higher utility rates are in store for consumers, saying the current committee is the weakest she has seen.

It has been nearly two months since Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s March 9 firing of Ball, who had served in the position for eight years. Huntsman appointed Reberg, but her appointment was conditional upon a majority vote by the committee. Last month, the committee backed off from mounting a legal challenge to Ball's firing.

Ball, who was at Wednesday's meeting, said he remained undecided about whether to take legal action over his firing.

"To this point," Ball said, "I can't see how the governor can, in any sense, be upset with the response he has gotten from the committee."

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E-mail: danderton@desnews.com