Consumer advocate OK'd

A resource planning analyst at one of the nation's biggest utilities has been hired to represent Utah consumers when companies aim to increase electricity and natural gas rates.

On Tuesday, Michele Beck, 38, was confirmed in a 5-0 vote as the new director of the Utah Committee of Consumer Services. Committee member Andrew Riggle was not present.

Earlier this month, Beck was appointed to the position by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. She was one of two finalists competing for the job after Huntsman in September rejected four previous candidates. The position has been vacant since March, when former director Leslie Reberg stepped down.

Yet unlike her predecessor, Beck's confirmation drew little attention and generated no controversy despite her current job with Xcel Energy, the nation's 16th largest gas and electric utility, according to revenue rankings by Fortune magazine.

Xcel Energy, which has nearly 10,000 employees, spent $23 million in an effort to ship its nuclear waste to Skull Valley, about 50 miles from Salt Lake City. Beck told the Deseret Morning News earlier this month that she had no involvement in the company's efforts to ship its waste to Utah.

And that issue did not raise concerns among committee members, who focused on Beck's credentials.

"There's no comparison on experience," said Dee Jay Hammon, chairman of the committee. "She (Beck) has an infinite amount of experience relative to the very modest amount that Leslie had."

Kelly Casaday, a committee member, said he was impressed by Beck's answers to questions Tuesday during a conference call.

"I think she'll be a darn fine advocate for consumers," Casaday said. "Her resume is very good."

Beck, who resides in Minnesota, also has worked as a consumer advocate for the Minnesota Department of Commerce and as a rate regulation analyst for an electric cooperative. She said she viewed the Utah consumer committee as a "board of directors," which shapes policy.

"The director of the committee is more of the person who will enact the policy," Beck said. "I'm interested in ... understanding what role you would like to have. I think that I can come in with a fresh perspective. I don't have a really strong bias on that."

Yet for some Utahns, like David Ward, an east Millcreek resident, the new director should answer to consumers.