To whom should Pennsylvania’s consumer advocate be answerable?

The consumer advocate is a position created in 1976. The goal is to represent the people in state and federal proceedings involving utilities, including in front of the Pennsylvania Utility Commission. The point? The state’s interests and the people’s are often the same — but not always. It’s rather like having the court appoint a guardian ad litem for a minor child in a contentious custody case.

The Office of Consumer Advocate exists under the umbrella of the Pennsylvania attorney general. However, the advocate is not, strictly speaking, an employee of the AG. The advocate’s office operates within its own fence, independently.

At least that is the intention.

Patrick Cicero resigned as the state’s consumer advocate. A Spotlight PA story noted a letter from Cicero in which he claimed targeting by investor-owned utilities who wanted him gone.

The relationship between the utilities and the advocate is, by design, one of opposing forces. That is not surprising.

The problem is new AG David Sunday asked Cicero to reapply for the job he already had been doing.

“I remain steadfast in my belief in the importance of an independent Office of Consumer Advocate that aggressively pursues the interests of Pennsylvania utility consumers without fear of reprisal,” Cicero wrote, citing a “concerning shift.”

Sunday was sworn in Jan. 21. He says the request was not targeting Cicero. In fact, he says all staff under his authority were asked to reapply.

For a new row officer, that’s not necessarily unusual. There is often heavy turnover, especially when the office is changing not only hands but also party. With the exception of a two-week period in August 2016 when Bruce Castor took the reins after Kathleen Kane’s conviction on various corruption charges, Sunday is the first Republican in the office since 2013.

Sunday’s housecleaning may be his prerogative, but it’s still a bad look with Cicero’s position. The advocate is not a normal hire. It requires senate confirmation. In a chamber normally deeply divided along party lines, Cicero’s confirmation came with a vote of 45 to 5.

Pennsylvanians need independent advocacy when it comes to their utilities, which represent such a large part of their expenses. That is all the more important right now as electric bills are poised to spike because of a massive increase in power plant generation costs.

There should never be any confusion about who represents Pennsylvanians. Ideally, it should be both the AG and the advocate.

But, if there is any question, the advocate needs to be able to stand independently. Cicero did that, even if it was by resigning.