Recent retirements and departures at the Idaho Public Utilities Commission have resulted in new membership of the body that regulates investor-owned or privately-owned utilities that provide gas, water, electricity or some telephone services for profit in the state.
Governor Brad Little appointed John Chatburn to replace Paul Kjellander, who retired as president of the commission in December. In addition, PUC Commissioner Kris Raper will be leaving the commission this month for a job in the private sector and Governor Little has appointed John Hammond to replace her. PUC commissioner and former legislator Eric Anderson was voted the new PUC president in December.
Chatburn has been the administrator of the Governor’s Office of Energy and Mineral Resources since 2014. He has also served as the Special Assistant for Energy under former Governor Butch Otter; Deputy Administrator in the Division of Animal Industries at the Idaho State Department of Agriculture; Special Assistant to the ISDA Director; and Energy and Natural Resource Policy Advisor for fomer Governor Phil Batt. He has held numerous positions on boards and commissions pertaining to Idaho’s energy sector. Chatburn earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Boise State University.
Hammond is the lead Deputy Attorney General for the Public Utilities Commission and has served the PUC as a Deputy Attorney General for a total of close to seven years. He was a partner at Fisher Pusch LLP in Boise for 15 years, served as a law clerk, and was a deputy prosecuting attorney for Canyon County. Hammond earned his bachelor’s degree and law degree from the University of Idaho.
