Task Force Leadership

Co-Chairs

Jeffrey Ackermann was appointed Chairman of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) effective Jan. 9, 2017 by Gov. John Hickenlooper. His four-year term expires in January 2021.

Prior to his appointment, Jeff served as executive director of the Colorado Energy Office (CEO). Under his leadership, CEO made significant strides in improving innovative production and efficient consumption of Colorado’s energy resources.

He has more than three decades of experience in state government and the energy sector.  Previous to his CEO appointment, Jeff led the research efforts at the PUC, focusing on issues ranging from electric system planning to the regulatory implications of emerging technologies.  Jeff also served as an advisor to the commissioners on energy efficiency (demand-side management).

Jeff started his professional career in the service of low-income energy consumers, twice as director of the state’s energy efficiency assistance program (weatherization) as well as an advocate for energy consumers with the state’s nonprofit energy assistance fund.

Jeff earned a bachelor’s degree from Albion College and a master’s degree in non-profit management from Regis University.

 

Jennifer Richardson was named Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Energy Development and Chief Energy Advisor to Governor Holcomb in December 2019. Richardson joined the Indiana Office of Energy Development (OED) as the Director of Energy Security Policy, Renewable Development & Resilience in 2018 where she supervised initiatives and programs that advanced diverse energy options that support the reliable and affordable policy solutions for Hoosiers.  Her work developing energy and fuel policies for the state has brought together key stakeholders and leveraged private sector resources that help Indiana’s economy.

Previously, Richardson worked as a regional manager for state regulatory affairs and policy for Midcontinent Independent System Operator. She also worked for several years for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and had a 10-year career at the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, including working as the director of federal and legislative policy to ensure Indiana’s voice on key policy decisions impacting the state. Jennifer’s experience ranges from energy and infrastructure security, emerging technology integration into wholesale energy markets, long-term planning initiatives including energy storage, DERs, resource adequacy and traditional capacity resources.  Jennifer graduated from Purdue University with Honors and went on to Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs for a Master’s Degree in Public Policy.  She recently completed a post-graduate executive education program in Strategic Management and Leadership at Yale University’s School of Management.

 

Co-Vice-Chairs

First appointed in 2012, Commissioner Andrew McAllister is serving his second term on the California Energy Commission. He is focused on enabling modern, data-rich analytical tools to support strong clean energy policy. At the Energy Commission, he leads the policy areas of energy efficiency and energy assessments. Energy efficiency includes the Building Energy Efficiency Standards, appliance efficiency, and load management. Topics under energy assessments include energy forecasting and reliability modeling.

Commissioner McAllister has worked on energy deployment and policy since the early 1990s. He has worked across the world to deploy clean, cost-effective energy solutions with counterparts ranging from tiny remote communities to the largest of utilities. He administered two of California’s signature renewable energy programs, developed and operated energy efficiency programs for utilities, and conducted a broad range of policy-related research for California and the federal government.

He is immediate past chair of the board of directors of the National Association of State Energy Officials and a board member of the Alliance to Save Energy. His deep grounding in technology, policy, and the marketplace provides him with uncommon insight on the accelerating changes taking place in California’s energy sector.

 

Commissioner M. Beth Trombold was appointed to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) by Governor John Kasich in 2013 and reappointed to a second term in 2018. Commissioner Trombold serves as acting chair of the PUCO, and among other work, focuses extensively on grid modernization and regional electric transmission issues.

She is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners (MACRUC) and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) where she serves on the Committee on Electricity and the Washington Action Program, the committee that primarily discusses NARUC’s work in Congress and with other federal stakeholders. She currently serves as co-vice chair of the NARUC-NASEO Task Force on Comprehensive Electricity Planning, a collaborative initiative to develop new approaches to distribution system planning and resource planning processes. Commissioner Trombold is active in the regulatory community as a speaker, panelist, and moderator at conferences and events on a regional, national, and international level.

She is the past president and a current board member of the Organization of PJM States, Inc. (OPSI), an organization of 14 state commissions in the service area of PJM, the regional transmission operator. Commissioner Trombold serves on the OPSI Governance Committee, and is chair of the Independent State Agencies Committee (ISAC) focused on transmission needs within PJM. She also serves on the Financial Research Institute advisory board at the University of Missouri.