Contact: Regina Davis, rdavis@naruc.org

WASHINGTON (October 1, 2020) — National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners President Brandon Presley has appointed Commissioner Odogwu Obi Linton as chairman of the Committee on Consumers and the Public Interest. He succeeds Missouri Commissioner Maida Coleman.

The Committee on Consumers and the Public Interest focuses on analyzing the growing and changing role of state commissions in protecting consumer interests and addresses challenges related to the restructured marketplace, information protection and consumer education.

Linton, who previously served as vice chair of the CPI Committee, was appointed to the Maryland PSC in 2017 and previously served the agency in roles that included deputy staff counsel and director of the Office of External Relations (now known as the Consumer Affairs Division). He also is the founding chair of NARUC’s Staff Subcommittee on Supplier and Workforce Diversity and serves on the Task Force on Emergency Preparedness, Recovery and Resiliency.  He earned a juris doctor from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and a bachelor of science in Administration of Justice and a bachelor of arts in Africana Studies from Rutgers University.

“Thank you to President Presley and the NARUC Executive Committee and staff for their expression of confidence, and to Commissioner Coleman for her unmatched stewardship of CPI,” said Linton. “I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Committee and the staff to continue raising awareness about the changing role state commissions play in protecting the consumer’s interest.”

“Utility consumers are faced with an array of complex challenges that are important for both regulators and industry to fully appreciate,” said Presley. “Commissioner Linton has made significant contributions to the CPI Committee as vice chair and I am certain that under his capable leadership, the Committee will continue to identify and prioritize these important issues. We also thank Commissioner Coleman for her outstanding leadership.”

NARUC’s eight standing committees propose resolutions that, if approved by the Board of Directors, set Association policy on congressional, federal and industry matters. The committees, populated by state public service commissioners, also hold educational sessions and panel discussions on relevant issues to best serve NARUC members. Committee chairs are appointed by the NARUC president for a one-year term and may be reappointed for a maximum of three consecutive terms.

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About NARUC

NARUC is a non-profit organization founded in 1889 whose members include the governmental agencies that are engaged in the regulation of utilities and carriers in the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. NARUC's member agencies regulate telecommunications, energy, and water utilities. NARUC represents the interests of State public utility commissions before the three branches of the Federal government.