FRI News

July 3, 2023

California Commissioner John Reynolds Joins FRI Advisory Board

July 5, 2023 FRI is pleased to welcome Commissioner John Reynolds of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to the FRI Advisory Board. Commissioner Reynolds was appointed to the CPUC by Governor Gavin Newsom on Dec. 23, 2021, and reappointed on Dec. 22, 2022. Commissioner Reynolds had previously served as Managing Counsel at Cruise LLC since 2019. Prior to that, he held multiple positions at the CPUC, including Interim Chief of Staff to Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma in 2018, Advisor to former Commissioner Carla J. Peterman from 2015 to 2018, and Public Utilities Counsel from 2013 to 2015. He was Associate…

June 29, 2023

DC Commission, Chair Thompson Join FRI Advisory Board

June 29, 2023 FRI is pleased to welcome the District of Columbia Public Service Commission and Chairman Emile C. Thompson to the FRI Advisory Board. The DC PSC regulates the monopoly electric distribution, natural gas, and telecom utilities serving the District’s approximately 700 thousand residents. The District of Columbia joins 16 state public utility commissions represented on FRI’s Advisory Board. Chairman Thompson was first appointed to the DC PSC by Mayor Muriel Bowser in 2021 and re-appointed as Interim Chairman on December 1, 2021. He was confirmed as Chairman on June 7, 2022. He is an active member of…

April 12, 2023

Andreas D. Thanos Selected for 2023 Crystal Award

April 12 ,2023 FRI is pleased to announce that Andreas D. Thanos has been selected as recipient of the 2023 Crystal Award for Distinguished Contribution. In addition to his exemplary work as a long-time state energy regulatory commission staffer, Thanos also demonstrates an extraordinary commitment to the larger energy community, both nationally and internationally, through his active work with NARUC, USAID, North American Energy Standards Board and the Gas Technology Institute. Thanos began his work with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities in 1993 as an economist in the gas division. Today, Thanos relies on his knowledge and expertise to…

July 6, 2022

Illinois Commissioner Ann McCabe Joins FRI Advisory Board

July 6, 2022 FRI is pleased to welcome Commissioner Ann McCabe of the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to the FRI Advisory Board. Commissioner McCabe was appointed to a five-year term at the ICC starting February 1, 2022. She previously served on the Commission from March 2012 to January 2017. Prior to returning to the ICC, for two years Ann led the US team at the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), a non-profit that advises state utility regulators, staff and stakeholders. She has over 25 years of energy and environmental policy and regulatory experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors. In…

June 10, 2022

Dr. Ohler Awarded MU Research Council Grant

June 10, 2022 Dr. Adrienne Ohler, Associate Research Professor with FRI,  was recently awarded a grant by the University of Missouri Research Council to support a new research project titled The Economics of Environmental Health Disparities: Who Benefits from Coal Power Plant Closures? Disparate exposure to energy-related air pollution has been shown to increase health inequalities for low income and minority populations, increase their cost of healthcare, and lead to a struggle between energy production and public health and health disparities. To evaluate the economics of these environmental health disparities, Dr. Ohler will examine the distribution of health benefits across…

April 27, 2022

John E. “Butch” Howard Selected for 2022 Crystal Award

April 28, 2022 FRI has selected John E. “Butch” Howard as recipient of the 2022 Crystal Award for Distinguished Service. John E. “Butch” Howard was a member of the South Carolina Public Service Commission (SC PSC) for sixteen years, as well as an active participant in the National Association of Regulated Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and several other regulatory education and research organizations. Howard started his regulatory journey when he was elected to the SC PSC in 2004. He served on the PSC until 2020. He was elected as Co-Chairman to the commission in 2008 and Chairman in 2010. During…

April 12, 2022

Karen Stachowski Joins FRI Advisory Board

April 12, 2022 FRI is pleased to welcome our newest Advisory Board member, Karen H. Stachowski, Senior Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection & Advocate Unit of the Financial Division in the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General. In this role, she focuses on proceedings before the Tennessee Public Utility Commission (TPUC), which is responsible for regulating Tennessee’s investor-owned utility companies.  The Consumer Advocate seeks to enforce laws applicable to public utilities, to remove barriers to competition in public utilities markets, and to seek a healthy balance between regulation, competition, and the public interest.  It participates in regulatory proceedings…

Feb. 25, 2022

FRI Joins Engaging 4 MO Series

FRI’s Executive Director, Dr. Michael Sykuta, joined the Engaging 4 MO webinar series to tackle the question, “Who Sets My Utility Bill?”  The topic was sparked by a social media post complaining about the rates energy companies are allowed to charge “with no concern for the public.” The 30-minute video debunks this notion and dives a little deeper into just how many groups are involved in making sure that these rates serve the greater good (including keeping the lights on at the energy companies themselves).   Presented by the MU Division of Applied Social Sciences,…

Feb. 2, 2022

Research Update: Household Appliance Stock, Income, and Electricity Demand Elasticity

January 31, 2022 Dr. Adrienne Ohler, Associate Research Professor with FRI, published a study titled “The Household Appliance Stock, Income, and Electricity Demand Elasticity” examining how electricity demand elasticity is impacted by household income and the appliance stock. The paper, published in the January 2022 issue of The Energy Journal,  is co-authored with Dr. David Loomis of Illinois State University and former ISU graduate student Yewanda Marquis. The abstract of the article reads: “This paper estimates household electricity demand using data from the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) 2015 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS). Previous…

Jan. 21, 2022

NRDC Sponsors 2022 FRI Crystal Award

January 20, 2022 The FRI is excited to announce the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) as the sponsor for 2022 FRI Crystal Award for Distinguished Contribution. First awarded in 2013, the Crystal Award is presented each year to recognize an individual who has made recent and significant contributions to the design, implementation or analysis of public utility regulatory policy. The Crystal Award provides an opportunity to recognize excellence and achievement across regulated industries and further promote the FRI mission. Although NRDC’s sponsorship with FRI is new, NRDC has a long history with the Crystal Award. Ralph…