FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) member Talina R. Mathews, Ph.D. has been appointed to the board of directors of the National Association of Utility Regulatory Commissioners (NARUC).
NARUC President Nick Wagner of Iowa named Mathews to a term ending on Oct. 31, 2022.
As a NARUC director, Mathews will help oversee the activities of the organization, including research, policy development, member services and international engagement. NARUC’s members include utility regulatory bodies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories, and federal agencies. International members include Canadian provincial regulators and national regulatory bodies in Central America, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa.
“I am honored by the confidence NARUC has placed in me through this appointment,” Mathews said. “NARUC has earned tremendous respect among national policy makers and I look forward to working with its board to advocate for regulatory approaches that serve the best interests of our state and our country.”
PSC Chairman Michael Schmitt said Mathews is ideally suited to serve on the NARUC board.
“With her extensive background in economics and energy policy, Commissioner Mathews will be a strong and objective voice for common-sense policies in how NARUC engages with its members and with national leaders,” he said. “Kentucky will be well served by her presence on the NARUC board.”
Mathews was appointed to the Kentucky Public Service Commission by Gov. Matthew Bevin on July 3, 2017. Her term expires June 30, 2021.
Mathews also has served Kentucky as an economist in the state Office of Energy Policy, as executive director of the Governor’s Office of Energy Policy, and in the Department for Energy Development and Independence as director of the Division of Energy Generation, Transmission and Distribution.
Immediately prior to her appointment as commissioner, Mathews was the executive director of the PSC. She had previously served the PSC as a policy advisor and as staff economist.
Mathews also has served Kentucky as an economist in the state Office of Energy Policy, as executive director of the Governor’s Office of Energy Policy, and in the Department for Energy Development and Independence as director of the Division of Energy Generation, Transmission and Distribution.
In addition to nearly two decades of government service, Mathews has worked in the private sector with an engineering consulting firm and served as the director of member services and advocacy at the Organization of MISO States. She has held several adjunct teaching positions in economics and public policy.
Mathews also serves on NARUC’s Committee on Electricity, Committee on Critical Infrastructure, and Subcommittee on Clean Coal and Carbon Management. She is first vice president of the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, vice president and treasurer of the Organization of PJM States, a member of the Board of Directors of the Organization of MISO States, and a member of the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners. Mathews is a member of the advisory board of the Financial Research Institute at the University of Missouri and the advisory council of the Center for Public Utilities at New Mexico State University.
Commissioner Mathews earned a Doctor of Philosophy and a Master of Arts in economics from the University of Kentucky. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics and mathematics from Berea College.
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