Commissioner Tricia Pridemore of the Georgia Public Service Commission, was sworn in as president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners at the group’s annual meeting.

In 2022, Pridemore was unanimously elected 2^nd Vice President of NARUC. She served as 1^st Vice President last year before ascending to a one-year term as president.

“As President of NARUC, it will be an honor to represent regulatory Commissioners from across the U.S. in national and international matters,” Pridemore said. “I will represent my fellow Commissioners through hard work, a listening ear and with a heart to serve. I am grateful and humble for the confidence the organization has placed in me.”

Her instillation as president marks the first time in 19 years that a Georgia Commissioner has led NARUC.

At NARUC’s 136^th Annual Meeting in November, Commissioner Pridemore announced the new theme for the Association, “Let There Be Light,” focusing on the need to meet ever-increasing demand for energy.

At her swearing-in ceremony, Pridemore cited the roles of manufacturing growth and data centers and the strain they place on load-growth demand. Solutions to ease this strain can be found in projects such as Georgia’s Plant Vogtle expansion, she said. Vogtle Units 3 & 4 are the first new nuclear units in 30 years and their 80-year lifespan will help support electricity needs “for an entire generation.”

Pridemore says her tenure as NARUC president will highlight the good things happening nationally and will foster the sharing of best practices across utility sectors. To that end, she announced a new Demand Roundtable, which will bring together seven state Commissioners, seven utilities/regional operators and seven hyper-scalers/mega users. At three national meetings, the new Roundtable will discuss the critical issues surrounding increased demand and work toward innovative solutions.

“We're hoping that this open, transparent discussion can foster a dialogue that allows state Commissioners to become aware and to understand what this new demand means for their states,” she said.

Pridemore succeeds Commissioner Julie Fedorchak, from the North Dakota Public Service Commission.

Founded in 1889, NARUC is a non-profit organization dedicated to representing state public service commissions that regulate utilities providing energy, telecommunications, power, water, and transportation. NARUC's members include all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. https://www.naruc.org/

Commissioner Pridemore was appointed to the Georgia Public Service Commission in 2018 and elected statewide later that year. In July 2021, she was unanimously elected to a term as chairman of the Commission by her fellow Commissioners. A full bio can be found here: https://psc.ga.gov/about-the-psc/commissioners/tricia-pridemore/

The Georgia Public Service Commission is a five-member constitutional agency that exercises its authority and influence to ensure that consumers receive safe, reliable, and reasonably-priced telecommunications, electric and natural gas service from financially viable and technically competent companies. For more information on the Commission, see the Commission website at https://psc.ga.gov