Author: Kellie Armstead Didigu, Public Affairs Specialist: Email: kdidigu@psc.dc.gov Office: 202-626-5124 Released: December 18, 2018
(Washington, D.C.) Today, Willie L. Phillips was confirmed as the new Chair of the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia effective December 18, 2018 for a term ending June 30, 2022. Commissioner Phillips was nominated by Mayor Muriel A. Bowser and confirmed by the DC Council. Commissioner Phillips was first appointed as a Commissioner in 2014.
“Having served as a regulatory attorney and Commissioner, it is a great honor to be confirmed today as Chair. I look forward to working with my fellow Commissioners and our excellent Staff, as we tackle the pressing issues before the Commission, including infrastructure improvement, grid modernization, and consumer education,” stated Commissioner Phillips.
Commissioner Phillips is an experienced regulatory attorney combining over a decade of legal expertise in private practice and as in-house counsel. Commissioner Phillips has an extensive background in the areas of public utility regulation, bulk power system reliability, and corporate governance.
Prior to coming to the Commission, Commissioner Phillips served as Assistant General Counsel for the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), a not-for-profit international regulatory authority, in Washington, D.C. Before joining NERC, Phillips was an attorney at Van Ness Feldman LLP in Washington, D.C., where he advised clients on regulatory compliance and policy matters and assisted on litigation and administrative proceedings on the Federal and State level. He has also worked as an aide on Capitol Hill.
Commissioner Phillips is a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), where he serves on the Committee on Electricity, and he is Second Vice President of the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (MACRUC). He also serves on the Advisory Council to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Harvard Electricity Policy Group, Keystone Policy Center Energy Board, Energy Bar Association, Dentons Smart Cities & Communities Think Tank, and American Association of Blacks in Energy. And he serves on the Board of Directors of the Organization of PJM States, Inc. (OPSI) and the Living Classrooms Foundation of the National Capital Region.
Commissioner Phillips has a Juris Doctor degree from Howard University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Montevallo. He is also a member of the District of Columbia Bar and Alabama State Bar Association.
The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia is an independent agency established by Congress in 1913 to regulate electric, natural gas, and telecommunications companies in the District of Columbia.
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Kellie Armstead Didigu
Media Relations Specialist
Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia
1325 G Street N.W., Suite 800
Washington, D.C. 20005
202-626-5124 Office | 202-626-9210 fax
kdidigu@psc.dc.gov | www.dcpsc.org