Oregon PUC
Letha Tawney is Chair of the Oregon Public Utility Commission. Paul Kjellander is PUF Senior Advisor and former NARUC President.
Last month, Public Utilities Fortnightly kicked off a three-part series on contentious issues facing state regulators, starting with a conversation with West Virginia Chair Charlotte Lane. In this PUF issue, four more Commission Chairs give their views on subjects they are grappling with, and while there are differences, there is much in common.
Commissions are dealing with the need for more generation to meet load growth from data centers, AI, manufacturing onshoring, and more. That brings in questions on affordability. But state policy differences and goals affect it all.
Arizona Chair Kevin Thompson, New Mexico Chair Gabriel Aguilera, Oregon Chair Letha Tawney, and Pennsylvania Chair Steve DeFrank in conversations with PUF Senior Advisor Paul Kjellander, had much to say on the issues facing their states.
PUF’s Paul Kjellander: There is much interest in data centers, AI, and industrial load growth. What are you seeing as a regulator in Oregon?