DC PSC
Emile Thompson is Chair of the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia. Paul Kjellander is PUF Senior Advisor, former NARUC and Idaho Commission President.
In October, Public Utilities Fortnightly kicked off a three-part 2025 series on contentious issues facing state regulators, starting with a conversation with West Virginia Chair Charlotte Lane followed by November PUF with four more Commission Chairs: Arizona’s Kevin Thompson, New Mexico’s Gabriel Aguilera, Oregon’s Letha Tawney, and Pennsylvania’s Steve DeFrank.
Commissions are dealing with the need for more generation to meet load growth from data centers, AI, manufacturing onshoring, and more. Washington, D.C. is not faced with bringing in data centers but has affordability issues just the same. It faces clean energy goals, grid modernization priorities, and even areas of growth such as an NFL football team, the Washington Commanders, coming back to the city with stadium infrastructure needs. In this issue of PUF, the 2025 series with Commission Chairs ends, with District of Columbia Chair Emile Thompson giving his views on tough subjects. Look for more with Commission Chairs in 2026.
PUF’s Paul Kjellander: Give a sense of the range of regulatory authority that the Washington, D.C. Commission has.