Chair
Jason Stanek is Chair of the Maryland Public Service Commission.
The PUF team had a warm welcome at the PSC offices in Baltimore on the upper floors of the William Donald Schaefer building. Maryland punches well above its weight, with an expansive grid modernization portfolio, ambitious electric vehicle and charging programs, utility-scale batteries deployed as grid assets, and more, backed up by a diverse renewable generation portfolio and nuclear power at the Calvert Cliffs plant. All this is made possible by the Commission Staff of some one hundred and fifty, required by statute to be located in Baltimore, so legislative business entails a drive to Annapolis. Five Commissioners lead this accomplished Staff, and they all have a lot to say about what makes Maryland special and unique.
PUF's Lori Burkhart: You were appointed to the Commission by Governor Larry Hogan.
Chair Stanek: Yes, for a five-year term.
PUF: Talk about how the appointment process works in Maryland. Is the Commission considered political at all?
Chair Stanek: Not at all. The Commission is an independent agency created by statute in 1910. We take pride in the fact that we are independent from the executive who appoints us, which is not the case in all states. The appointment process is such where the Governor appoints a commissioner every year to fill a five-year term.