Contact: Regina Davis, rdavis@naruc.org

WASHINGTON (September 9, 2021) — In response to the announcement of the nomination of District of Columbia Public Service Commission Chairman Willie L. Phillips to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners has issued the following statements:

“On behalf of the Association, I am pleased to congratulate Chairman Phillips on his nomination,” said NARUC President Paul Kjellander of Idaho. “His recent leadership of our Select Committee on Regulatory and Industry Diversity and his term as the president of the MACRUC region are just a couple of examples of his ability to lead and serve beyond the DC Commission. We thank him for his collegiality and look forward to working with him in his new role.”

“We wholeheartedly support the nomination of Chairman Phillips to serve as a FERC member. He possesses extensive knowledge of the critical issues facing regulators today,” said NARUC Executive Director Greg White. “There is no doubt that he will apply this balanced, thoughtful approach to his new role as a FERC commissioner.”

NARUC has a long-held position that state regulators should serve as FERC members, based on their knowledge of utility matters that affect states and the “often unintended, effects of federal policy at the ground level on consumers, and how such policies complement, interfere, or interact with related state programs or local/regional market conditions/demographics,” as outlined in our 2018 resolution.

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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.