I know that many times as citizens, we can feel that our voices are not heard by our government. In my activities to help secure the grid, I have written far more letters and emails to the government that have gone unanswered than answered. This issue is a perfect example.

After FERC opened the transparency issue for public comment, I wrote to all my federal and state representatives, the state public utilities commission, the state consumer advocate, etc., etc. Most of them ignored me completely. A few sent perfunctory responses that they care about blah, blah, blah (and then no further response when I tried to follow up). Two outright refused to participate in filing comments – both claiming they didn’t know enough about the issue to comment. (Hmm. I guess two months is not enough time to read the whitepaper and some of the responses in the docket?)

But one person, Representative Kat McGhee, asked to meet with me to discuss the issue. I was actually shocked.

A few days later, we met for an hour and discussed grid security in a bit of detail. She listened, took notes and had also read up on the issue before I arrived to the meeting. In sum, she was on it. She told me that she would submit a letter supporting increased transparency – which she did on October 7, 2019. She also said that she would reach out to others who may be able to help (which she also subsequently did).

Okay, run that by me again: You call your representative with a concern and they represent you? What an interesting concept!

Seriously, thank you Kat McGhee for doing what you were elected to do. You are one of the few elected officials I have met that actually does that.

— — Michael Mabee
Author of The Civil Defense Book
Website: Grid Security
Constituent, Mont Vernon, NH