March 26, 2025
New Jersey Commissioner Dr. Zenon Christodoulou joins FRI Advisory Board
FRI is pleased to welcome Dr. Zenon Christodoulou, Commissioner with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), to its Advisory Board. Commissioner Christodoulou was appointed to the NJBPU in August 2022. Prior to joining the Board, Dr. Christodoulou had a long and distinguished career in business and academia. He has been a management consultant in various industries and has owned successful businesses in print manufacturing, graphic design, the restaurant industry, and the media sector. Additionally, he has taught as an adjunct professor at William Paterson University educating undergraduate and graduate business students in areas as diverse as organizational behavior,…
Dec. 9, 2024
FRI Welcomes Ewell Lawson as Program Director
The Financial Research Institute (FRI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Ewell Lawson as our new Program Director. As Program Director, Mr. Lawson will direct the operations and implementation of FRI’s educational programs, including the Annual Public Utility Symposium, the Advanced Seminar on Transformational Pricing and Rate Design, and the Regulated Utilities Leadership Institute (RULI). He will also contribute to FRI’s policy analysis and industry research efforts. Mr. Lawson brings a wealth of experience in utilities, government and association management, and policy leadership. Recognized nationally for his contributions to public power and…
Aug. 21, 2024
WUTC’s Ann Rendahl Joins FRI Advisory Board
FRI is pleased to welcome Commissioner Ann Rendahl of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission to our Advisory Board. Ann Rendahl was first appointed to serve as a commissioner of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission in December 2014 for a six-year term that ended Jan. 1, 2021. Ann has been reappointed and confirmed to a second six-year term ending Jan. 1, 2027. Ann serves as the Second Vice President of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, or NARUC, and serves as a member of the Committees on Electricity and Critical Infrastructure, prior chair of the Committee on…
June 13, 2024
Missouri PSC Chair Kayla Hahn Joins FRI Advisory Board
May 28, 2024 FRI is pleased to welcome Chair Kayla Hahn of the Missouri Public Service Commission to our Advisory Board. Chair Kayla Hahn was first appointed to the Missouri Public Service Commission on June 1, 2023, and was appointed to a new six year term on January 2, 2024. On February 6, 2024, she was named Chair of the Public Service Commission. Prior to her appointment, Chair Hahn was on the Governor’s senior staff team as Policy Director and had served as Senior Advisor and Policy Director for Governor Parson since August 2018. As Policy Director, Chair Hahn…
May 3, 2024
FRI Recognized as a “Program of Distinction”
May 3, 2024 We are excited to announce that FRI has been named a Program of Distinction by the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.Since its founding in 1988, FRI has been bringing together state utility regulators, utility executives, and consumer advocates across the United States to learn about, discuss, and debate issues affecting regulated utility industries and how those utilities should be regulated. By providing a neutral environment to engage in these conversations, FRI contributes to more efficient and effective utility regulation that supports economic, environmental, and human health.This Program of Distinction designation…
April 18, 2024
Stan Wise Selected for 2024 Crystal Award
April 18, 2024 FRI has selected Stan Wise as recipient of the 2024 Crystal Award for Distinguished Service. Stan Wise was elected statewide four consecutive times, to serve on the Public Service Commission from January 1995 through February 2018. His first elected public office was as a Cobb County Commissioner in 1990. He previously served the county as a member of the Cobb County Planning Commission and also on the Board of Zoning Appeals. Wise was a Board Member of the ten-county Atlanta Regional Commission from 1992 through 1994. Stan served on the National Petroleum Council for the 2016-2017 term…
Feb. 19, 2024
New York PSC Chair Rory Christian Joins FRI Advisory Board
February 19, 2024 FRI is pleased to welcome Rory Christian, Chair of the New York Public Service Commission, to FRI’s Advisory Board. Chair Christian was first appointed to the NY PSC in June 2021, and appointed Chair and CEO in September 2021. He joined the PSC after several years experience in and related to the energy industry, having begun his career with Keyspan Energy before stints at National Grid and Constellation NewEnergy. He also served as Director of Energy Finance and Sustainability Management for the New York Housing Authority and as New York Director, Clean Energy for the Environmental…
Feb. 13, 2024
Kristin Munsch Joins FRI Advisory Board
February 13, 2024 FRI is pleased to welcome Kristin Munsch, Senior Associate General Counsel for Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), to our Advisory Board. Her work focuses on regulatory policy and litigation, including the implementation of Illinois’ most recent energy legislation, the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act. Before working with ComEd, Kristin was the Director for Regulatory and Customer Strategy with National Grid where she focused on policies and strategies to advance state and company clean energy goals. She comes from a consumer advocacy background, having served as Deputy Director for the Illinois Citizens Utility Board and Assistant Attorney General for…
Jan. 3, 2024
Patrice Jones Hunter Joins FRI Advisory Board
January 3, 2024 FRI is pleased to welcome Patrice Jones Hunter, Senior Director of State Regulatory Policy for the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), to FRI’s Advisory Board. Patrice was promoted to Senior Director after servicing as Director of State Energy and Regulatory Policy for two years. In her current role, she serves as the lead on state regulatory policy issues and activities in support of the investor-owned electric power industry. Prior to working with EEI, Patrice served as an Energy Regulatory Reform Manager at Deloitte Consulting LLP, providing strategic consulting to the federal government public sector in…
Dec. 21, 2023
FRI, Looking Back and Looking Ahead
December 21, 2023 Written by Dr. Michael Sykuta, Executive Director of FRI As 2023 draws to a close, so does my third year as Executive Director of FRI. To say the past three years have been a whirlwind would be an understatement. It’s been a time of growth for me personally, learning about the issues facing the three regulated utility industries we address (electricity, natural gas, and water/wastewater systems), learning the regulatory landscape, and pivoting my research and teaching focus more toward regulatory economics and public utilities. It has also been a time of growth for FRI, as we’ve expanded…