Gov. David Ige on Monday nominated University of Hawaii energy specialist Jennifer Potter to the Public Utilities Commission.
Gov. David Ige on Monday nominated University of Hawaii energy specialist Jennifer Potter to the Public Utilities Commission.
Potter is an assistant specialist with the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Hawaii Natural Energy Institute.
The nomination is subject to Senate confirmation. If confirmed, Potter would begin her six-year term on July 1. She will replace Lorraine Akiba, whose term expires June 30.
Prior to joining HNEI, Potter was a senior scientific engineering associate in the Electricity Market and Policy group at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. While there, she was the project lead on the 2025 California Demand Response Potential Study for the California Public Utilities Commission. Potter also worked at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District in various positions, including enterprise performance data manager, principal market analyst, and project manager. She was also an electric analyst for the City of Roseville in California.
Potter earned her bachelor’s degree in international studies and economics from Southern Oregon University, and her master’s degree in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University.
The three-member commission regulates all chartered, franchised, certificated and registered public utility companies operating in the state. It also reviews and approves rates, tariffs, charges and fees, among other duties including acting on requests for the acquisition, sale, disposition or other exchange of utility properties, including mergers and consolidations.
