Dive Brief:
- Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Andre Porter is preparing to step down from the commission, The Columbus Dispatch reports, citing multiple sources familiar with the decision.
- Porter was appointed to the seat Gov. John Kasich (R), a little more than a year ago. His term was slated to end in April 2020.
- Porter has chaired the commission through the controversial income guarantee proceedings for FirstEnergy and American Electric Power (AEP), as the utilities lobbied for eight-year power purchase agreements for some of their aging facilities.
Dive Insight:
News of Porter's planned departure is apparently an open secret in some Ohio circles, The Columbus Dispatch reports; the Sierra Club went so far as to issue a statement wishing Porter luck with whatever comes next. But so far, no one is talking openly about the matter despite weeks of questions from the newspaper.
The newspaper reports it asked PUCO "whether Porter was leaving, and received no immediate response. After several follow-ups, agency staff said they were still checking it out."
But the newspaper also spoke with three people who claim to be briefed on the matter, and they say he will shortly step down from the post and take an out-of-state job.
Porter was appointed chairman last year by Gov. Kasich, and previously served as a commissioner of the PUCO from 2011 to 2013. He also led the Ohio Department of Commerce, which Kasich appointed him to in 2013.
