Arkansas Public Service Commission Rejects South Central Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation's Motion to Strike Witness Testimony

Strategic Insights -

The Arkansas Advanced Energy Association (AAEA) has filed a response to the South Central Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation's (Cooperative) motion to strike a portion of AAEA witness Lauren Waldrip's surrebuttal testimony. The motion, filed by the Cooperative on May 7, 2025, claimed that AAEA failed to serve the motion on the proper parties. However, an investigation by AAEA revealed that the Cooperative's motion lacked proper certification of service, and the designated parties did not receive the motion. Despite this, the Cooperative argued that AAEA's witness, Lauren Waldrip, was not an expert and therefore, her testimony should be struck. The AAEA countered that Waldrip was not providing expert testimony but rather common sense observations as the Executive Director of the state's leading advocate for renewable energy.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) has issued a document related to the application of South Central Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation for a proposed tariff revision regarding policy to comply with 7 CFR SS 1730, Subpart C.
  • AAEA requests that the APSC deny the Cooperative's motion for lack of service on AAEA, stating that Commission Rule of Practice and Procedure (RPP) 3.08(b)(1) requires a certificate showing simultaneous service of the document on all parties.
  • The Cooperative's motion contains a certificate of service that purports to have served the motion via the Commission's electronic filing system, but it fails to note the name of each person served and does not indicate that the designated parties actually received the motion.
  • Both AAEA Executive Director Lauren Waldrip and counsel Randall Bynum searched their emails, including their spam filters, and did not find emails serving the motion on them.
  • Affidavits from Waldrip and Bynum are attached, stating that they did not receive the motion.
  • The Cooperative's argument that AAEA's witness, Lauren Waldrip, was not an expert has no basis in law or fact, as Waldrip's testimony is merely common sense observations as the Executive Director of the state's leading advocate for renewable energy.

Statistics:

  • The Cooperative's motion was filed on May 7, 2025.
  • AAEA first learned of the motion by an email sent by Administrative Law Judge and Commission Advisor Wesley Hunt on May 15, 2025.
  • Affidavits from Waldrip and Bynum were attached to the AAEA's response, stating that they did not receive the motion.

Sources:

  • [Commission Rule of Practice and Procedure (RPP) 3.08(b)(1)]
  • [Email sent by Administrative Law Judge and Commission Advisor Wesley Hunt on May 15, 2025]
  • [Affidavits from Lauren Waldrip and Randall Bynum]