Kennett Square resident has chaired utilities commission since 2011
Robert F. Powelson
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett moved Tuesday to reappoint Robert F. Powelson of Kennett Square to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, or PUC. Powelson has served as a PUC chairman since February 2011.
“As chairman, Rob Powelson has worked tirelessly for Pennsylvania ratepayers and consumers,” Corbett said in a statement, “His leadership has helped make our commonwealth a national model for safe, effective energy development, and has been crucial to developing our robust electric retail marketplace, which now is ranked number two in the nation.”
Powelson was first nominated by former Gov. Ed Rendell to serve on the PUC and was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on June 30, 2008. He was renominated for a five-year term on Feb. 12, 2009, and was again unanimously confirmed on April 22, 2009. His current term expires on April 1, 2014.
Powelson is the chair of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, or NARUC, Committee on Water. In addition, he has been appointed to represent that committee on NARUC’s Task Force on Climate Policy. He is also a member of the NARUC Committee on Critical Infrastructure and a member of the NARUC Subcommittee on Nuclear Issues-Waste Disposal.
Powelson previously served as the president of the Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry, where he also held other job titles and helped to develop the county’s economic development strategy. In 2005, he was selected by the Eisenhower Presidential Fellows to be a U.S. fellow in Singapore and Australia.
Powelson earned a Bachelor of Administration degree from St. Joseph’s University and a Master of Governmental Administration degree from the University of Pennsylvania with a concentration in public finance.
A Delaware County native, Powelson and his wife, Lauren, and their two sons live in Kennett Square.
The PUC is comprised of five, full-time members who serve staggered, five-year terms. Commissioners set policy on matters affecting utility rates and services, as well as on personnel, budget, fiscal and administrative matters. More information is available at www.puc.state.pa.us.
