La. PSC to revisit energy efficiency program

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Louisiana's utility regulatory agency will reconsider a decision to shelve a planned statewide energy efficiency program.

The Public Service Commission has been sued over its handling of the issue, with three organizations claiming the commission broke the state's open meetings law by refusing to allow public testimony before voting in February.

PSC Chairman Eric Skrmetta announced Tuesday that the commission would revisit the issue next month.

Skrmetta says he's reopening the discussion so that "all facts are clear." He says he never sought to deny the public's right to participate when he refused to allow testimony in February.

The program would have offered incentives to people to make their homes more energy-efficient, but the incentive costs would have been passed along to all customers of the power companies.