PSC Commissioner Notes ‘Second Cousin’ Tie To Wal-Mart CEO In PSC Filing

An interesting tidbit of trivia came to light in a recent Entergy Arkansas Inc. rate case filing when state Public Service Commission Elana Wills noted that she was a relative of the chief executive at one of the world’s largest companies.

That company, of course, is Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which filed as an intervenor on May 27 in Entergy Arkansas’ general rate case with the PSC on April 24. The Arkansas utility giant is seeking to recoup $167 million to improve and modernize the state’s power grid.

Wills’ filing on Monday, June 1, notes that she is second cousin to Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores.

“I do not maintain a close family relationship with Mr. McMillon and I believe that I am fully capable of rendering a fair and impartial decision in this proceeding, and therefore, do not believe there is any basis for disqualification,” Wills said in the filing.

“Absent the filing of a motion for disqualification, filed no later than noon on June 8, 2015, I intend to fully participate in this proceeding,” the PSC commissioner said.

PSC Executive Director John Bethel said there is no statutory requirement that Wills must follow in such cases, but it has been the PSC’s rule of thumb to follow the Arkansas “ethical canons” set for lawmakers, judges and others officials appointed to state agencies with legal or regulatory oversight.

“She has filed the same notice in the previous (Entergy) rate cases where Walmart was a party,” Bethel said. “It is done out of abundance for caution to make the parties aware that she had a family relation with one of the parties.”

“Given the nature of their relation, she doesn’t think it will keep her from being able to make a fair judgment or impartial ruling in these proceedings,” he said.

Wal-Mart is one of four parties to have filed with the PSC to intervene in Entergy Arkansas’ rate case filing application that company officials called a blueprint to improve electric reliability by modernizing the state’s largest utility’s power grid and helping to grow the state’s economy.

If approved, the adjustment would change the monthly bill of a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatts per hour (kWh) by nearly $13.00 or 45 cents a day, Entergy officials have said.

In its four-page petition to the PSC on May 27, Wal-Mart said it has not completed its analysis of Entergy Arkansas’ filing. “Accordingly, Wal-Mart has not yet identified any specific objections to EAI’s filing, or the grounds and issues of fact and law upon which Wal-Mart wishes to be heard,” wrote Oklahoma City attorney Rick Chamberlain, who is representing the Arkansas retail giant.

Wills, of Little Rock, was appointed to the PSC in January 2011 by former Gov. Mike Beebe. Prior to her appointment, she served as an associate justice on the Arkansas Supreme Court by gubernatorial appointment, filling out an unexpired term from October 2008 through December 2010. According to her Wikipedia bio, Wills was raised in Jonesboro and earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Arkansas State University and a law degree from the University of Arkansas School Of Law.

Also raised in Jonesboro, McMillon graduated from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor of science in business administration. He earned his MBA in finance from the University of Tulsa. He replaced longtime Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke in February 2014.

Bethel said that past PSC commissioners have filed notices similar to Wills’ memo in other commission proceedings. “If any party thinks (she) can’t be impartial, they can file an (objection) with the commission,” he said. To date, neither the PSC staff nor Entergy Arkansas officials have filed an objection.