A representative of the gas industry that Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) recently nominated to serve as one of the state’s key utility regulators withdrew his name from consideration on Tuesday, heading off what was shaping up as an adversarial confirmation process in the Senate.

In a statement issued by the governor’s office, Juan Alvarado, senior director of energy analysis for the American Gas Association, said he had decided to withdraw his nomination to the Maryland Public Service Commission “for personal reasons.” A spokesperson for Moore confirmed that the governor had neither requested nor in any way pressured Alvarado to stand down.

Alvarado was one of two PSC nominations Moore sent to the Senate on Feb. 17 as part of his “Green Bag” appointments. The governor also nominated Frederick H. Hoover Jr., assistant people’s counsel in the Office of the People’s Counsel, to chair the commission after the term of the current chair, Jason Stanek, expires in June. (See Moore Names Consumer Advocate to Head Md. PSC.)

While Hoover, a former board chair of the League of Conservation Voters, was seen as a good choice to lead the commission, questions and concerns about Alvarado’s connections to the gas industry began piling up soon after his nomination.

In addition to his work with the AGA, Alvarado spent 12 years at the PSC, seven of them as director of its Telecommunications, Gas & Water Division, according to his resume on LinkedIn.

In an interview with Inside Climate News, Kim Coble, executive director of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, said having a gas industry official on the commission “could present a challenge to the PSC’s efforts to advance utility and transportation services while also respecting the significant and unique role the commission plays in advancing the state’s climate goals and specifically the governor’s 100% clean energy goal.”

Maryland’s Climate Solutions Now Act (SB 528), passed by legislature last year, commits the state to a 60% drop in greenhouse gas emissions by 2031 and to net-zero emissions by 2045. As a candidate, Moore also committed to working toward a 100% clean electric grid in the state by 2035.

“Placing someone from the gas industry at [the PSC] could jeopardize the governor’s promise to take on climate change,” Josh Tulkin, director of the Maryland chapter of the Sierra Club, told The Washington Post. “Mr. Alvarado is completely the wrong person for the job.”

Maryland People’s Counsel David Lapp told the Post, “The gas utilities in Maryland are continuing to invest heavily in gas infrastructure. So, it’s critical that we have decision-makers at the Public Service Commission that can fairly and objectively evaluate those investments to determine whether they are best for customers, as well as best for furthering the state’s climate goals.”

The debate on Alvarado also spilled over to Twitter, where R. Scott Everngam, a former PSC staffer and FERC subject matter expert, said, “Moore should have stood his ground and defended” Alvarado.

Travis Kavulla, former president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, agreed, saying, “You should probably have on your PUC someone who really knows the mission-critical issues of gas utilities — that is ‘especially’ true if your gas policy isn’t just ‘straight course ahead.’”

Tough Questions

But even with Moore’s support, Alvarado would have faced tough questions in the Maryland Senate.

Sen. Will Smith (D), of Silver Spring, had said he would seek to put a hold on the nomination, citing a natural gas explosion at an apartment building in his district in 2016, when Alvarado was at the PSC.

As reported in Maryland Matters, the explosion at the Flower Branch Apartments in Silver Spring resulted in seven deaths, including two children. The explosion was caused by a faulty mercury gas regulator, commonly found in houses built before 1960. An investigation found that Washington Gas, the local utility, had fallen behind in its plans for replacing the equipment, and questions were raised about whether the PSC had also been lax in pushing the utility to expedite the work.

Smith had said he wanted to question Alvarado about his role in overseeing the equipment upgrade and the investigation following the explosion.

The nonprofit Environmental Law Institute was also critical of the nomination, citing Alvarado’s public statements in support of natural gas.

In a recent promotional video for the AGA, Alvarado says that the replacement of coal with gas has been responsible for a major reduction in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. “It’s going to be an integral part of further reducing emissions in the future, to the point where I think it can one of the paths to zero net emissions,” he says.

ELI also pointed to Alvarado’s presentation at a NARUC conference in 2022, calling for more “regulatory support” for natural gas.

“We need to educate everyone about the benefits of resilience on the gas system, and those benefits expand to the energy systems … how that is critical to their well-being,” he said.

In his statement withdrawing his nomination, Alvarado emphasized his experience at the PSC.

“My 12 years of service to Maryland as a member of [the PSC] gave me the highest reverence for the work it does each and every day to address climate change, improve service to ratepayers and ensure families have access to reliable telecommunications, gas and electricity,” he said.

“Climate change is the fight of our lives, and I believe that we have real and substantive challenges to meet Maryland’s goals while ensuring continuous and equitable service at fair rates. Those challenges mean all stakeholders need to be at the table executing the state’s vision towards a sustainable future.”

Who’s Next?

In a statement released with Alvarado’s, Moore also praised Alvarado’s PSC experience and affirmed his administration’s commitment to climate action.

Alvarado’s “deep understanding of the Public Service Commission was knowledge that would have served Maryland well,” Moore said. “As we look ahead, my administration is fully committed to achieving Maryland’s bold and necessary climate, energy and resilience goals. Our nominees to the Public Service Commission will be aligned with our administration’s goals, and we will work in partnership throughout this confirmation process to move Maryland forward.”

Providing that Hoover is confirmed, Moore now has two PSC seats to fill after rescinding the nominations of Commissioners Patrice Bubar and Odogwu Obi Linton, both of whom were appointed by former Gov. Larry Hogan but have remained unconfirmed. They were among the 48 Hogan appointees that Moore rescinded, with no explanation, in a Jan. 23 letter.

Environmental groups are already lining up with suggestions. According to the Post, the LCV’s Coble is supporting Scott Hempling, a FERC administrative law judge and an expert on public utility law. Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, would like to see a nomination for Meghan Conklin, a former energy adviser to U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). Conklin also served as a deputy assistant secretary for transmission planning at the U.S. Department of Energy during the Obama administration.

Bubar and Linton will continue to serve on the PSC until their replacements are confirmed and sworn in.