Since 1891, a group of North Carolinians have gathered to decide how much public investor-owned public utilities can charge for their services. The N.C. Utilities Commission is among the most important regulatory powers in state government.
To get on the commission has required a nomination by the governor and approval by the legislature.
Decisions involving Duke Energy and other utilities haven’t gotten any easier, but the number of people making the calls is changing, along with the process of gaining a seat.
State lawmakers this year agreed to cut the commission from seven to five people, effective in 2025, with the governor making three nominations and the legislature two. The commission had expanded from five to seven in 1975.
Commissioners serve six-year terms and join on a rotating basis.
Gov. Roy Cooper has sued the N.C. General Assembly for laws taking away his appointive powers, but didn’t include the Utilities Commission change specifically in his filing.
The appointment change took effective immediately, with GOP lawmakers approving two new commissioners, Bill Brawley of Mecklenburg County and Tommy Tucker of Union County, rather than accepting Cooper’s nominations.
Brawley and Tucker will join the board soon, succeeding Dan Clodfelter and ToNola Brown-Bland. Both were nominated by Cooper. Clodfelter is a former legislator from Mecklenburg who served on the commission for six years, while Brown-Bland has been on the board for 14 years.
Brawley served the Matthews area in the House from 2011-18, then lost three consecutive elections to Democrats Rachel Hunt and Laura Budd. Tucker served in the Senate from 2011-19.
The legislature did approve one of Gov. Cooper’s appointees: Chair Charlotte Mitchell, who joined the board in 2017.
Three NCUC members have terms that expire in 2025, when the commission’s size is reduced: Kimberly Duffley, Jeffery Hughes and Floyd McKissicik. The latter commissioner is a veteran Durham politician who served in the N.C. Senate from 2007-2020.
The other current commission member, Karen Kemerait, was appointed in 2022 with a term ending in 2027.
David Mildenberg is editor of Business North Carolina. Reach him at dmildenberg@businessnc.com.