Dive Brief:
- Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Chairman Andre Porter has officially submitted his resignation to Gov. John Kasich and is heading back into the private sector, he told the presidential candidate in a letter.
- Kasich will now have to appoint a new commissioner to fill the vacancy, as well as determine the next chair. There have been roughly four different PUCO heads in the last four years.
- The Columbus Dispatch reports on concerns the state's inability to keep a chief regulator in the position for very long. Porter served as PUCO chair for about a year, overseeing bids by American Electric Power and FirstEnergy to win controversial income guarantees for their generation.
Dive Insight:
PUCO Chair Andre Porter submitted his letter of resignation last week, ending speculation that the regulator was planning a return to the private sector.
"At this time, my wife and I have made the very difficult decision to pursue a new opportunity for our family back in the private sector," he wrote in his resignation. He was appointed to the seat a little more than a year ago, and his term was slated to end in April 2020.
"The revolving door succession of personnel over there is not particularly helpful as we try to grapple with complicated problems," Sen. Bill Seitz (R) told the Dispatch. He called Porter's departure "unfortunate."
That sentiment was echoed by the Sierra Club. Dan Sawmiller, with the group's Beyond Coal Campaign, also told the Dispatch that "we are in a period of transition, and it is important that we have institutional knowledge on our commission, but also someone who is prepared to make difficult and pragmatic decisions that advance Ohio's transition."
A PUCO committee will take applications and forward four names to Kasich for consideration. The governor will tap one to fill the commission's empty slot, and then determine which of the five members will serve as chair.
Porter 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.
Ohio regulators last month approved income guarantees for a group of coal plants and one nuclear plant through eight-year power purchase agreements. The high profile cases, involving older plants owned by AEP and FirstEnergy, is being challenged at FERC.
