Newcomer wins runoff in high-stakes utility race

BATON ROUGE, La. — Newcomer Davante Lewis, a Democrat backed by an environmental political action committee, won Saturday’s runoff for a seat on Louisiana’s Public Service Commission — an obscure regulatory body that has received national attention from media, celebrities, climate change activists and major public utility companies.

The 30-year-old progressive policy advocate unseated Lambert Boissiere III, who has held his position for nearly 18 years on the five-member commission, which regulates the state’s public utility companies and energy sector and sets electric rates, among other oversight powers.

“Tonight, we have begun a new chapter for Louisiana,” Lewis said in a statement. “Tonight, the people of Louisiana start taking our power back. Tonight, Louisiana has a Public Service Commissioner who’s unafraid to hold Entergy accountable, because I owe this victory to the people of Louisiana and their commitment to a brighter, cleaner and 100 percent renewable future.”

The multiparish election, covering an area stretching from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, saw hundreds of thousands of dollars poured into the race by major utility companies and outside political action committees.

Environmentalists have become increasingly focused on the commission in a state with a front-row seat to the effects of climate change and where tens of thousands of jobs are tied to the oil and gas industry. Even Hollywood paid attention to the runoff between the two Democrats, with Avengers star Mark Ruffalo chiming in on social media with his support for Lewis.

Lewis noted multiple priorities, including expanding renewable energy, strengthening Louisiana’s vulnerable power grid and tackling the state’s ballooning electricity bills that are largely a result of high prices for natural gas, a key fuel for Louisiana utilities.

“We rose up and said Louisiana is ready for a new energy future. One in which every Louisianian can count on clean air and water, a warm house in the winter, a cool horse in the summer and utility bills that don’t break the bank,” Lewis said.

“The monopoly utility companies, oil, gas and petrochemical industries and political establishment who tried to sink our movement will not disappear because of this election,” he said following the election. “We must continue to root out corruption and unrig the system, to hold me and my fellow commissioners accountable, and to advocate for bold, new solutions.”