Illinois's O'Connell-Diaz Appointed as Chair of NARUC Electricity Committee

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November 28, 2011

WASHINGTON—Illinois Commerce Commission member Erin O’Connell-Diaz has been selected to lead the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ Committee on Electricity.

Commissioner O’Connell-Diaz, a former Co-Vice Chair of the committee, replaces outgoing Chair Garry Brown of New York, whose three-year term expired.

NARUC's Electricity Committee provides State regulators a forum to develop and advance policies that promote reliable, adequate, and affordable supply of electricity. Through strong collaboration with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and related federal agencies, the Committee seeks ways to improve the quality and effectiveness of regulation through education, cooperation, and exchange of information.

“I am proud to appoint Commissioner O’Connell-Diaz to chair this committee,” said NARUC President David Wright of South Carolina. “The electricity industry is undergoing profound change, and as regulators we must make certain that the system works best for the ratepayers who pay for it. Ensuring consumers come out on top will take good team, and I am grateful that Commissioner O’Connell-Diaz will be one of my coaches. I also want to thank Chairman Brown for his steadfast leadership. He has overseen some tough battles during his chairmanship and the nation and our consumers are better off because of his service.”

“I cannot think of a more challenging time to be a utility regulator,” Chair O’Connell-Diaz said. “The Electricity Committee sets policies on issues that touch the pocketbooks of every consumer in this country. Transitioning to an efficient and clean utility system will not be easy, but we must make certain that, at the end of the day, the lights stay on at fair and affordable rates. I look forward to working with my colleagues and I thank President Wright for this opportunity.”

Commissioner O’Connell-Diaz was appointed to the Illinois Commerce Commission in April 2003 and reappointed in 2008. She is a member of the NARUC Board of Directors and recently served as Co-Vice Chair of the Electricity Committee and as a Co-Chair of the NARUC Environmental Coordinating Committee. She is active in NARUC’s International Relations outreach programs, is a faculty member of its Public Utility Water Rate School program and of the Utility Market Access Committee.  In addition, she is a member of the Harvard Electric Policy Group.

Commissioner O’Connell-Diaz served as an Administrative Law Judge for the ICC from 1991 to 2001, culminating in her appointment as the Assistant Director of the Administrative Law Division.  Additionally, she has served as Chair of the Chicago Bar Association's Public Utility Law Division.
 

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.

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