Contact: Regina Davis, 202-898-9382, rdavis@naruc.org

WASHINGTON (March 16, 2021) — The National Regulatory Research Institute has elected Commissioner David Ober of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission as its Board of Directors chair. NRRI is the research arm for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and its primary mission is to produce and disseminate relevant, applicable research for NARUC members. Ober replaces Rhode Island Commissioner Marion Gold, who has retired.

Along with Ober, Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission Chairman David Danner was elected as vice chair. Danner also leads the International Confederation of Energy Regulators and is a member of the NARUC Board of Directors. Stephanie Mullen, executive director at the Nevada Public Utility Commission, will continue to serve as the treasurer.

Ober, who served previously on the NRRI Board as vice chair, was appointed to the IURC in 2018 and reappointed in 2020. He is co-vice chair of the NARUC Committee on Water, is a member of the Mid-America Regulatory Conference and serves on the board of directors and executive committee for the Organization of PJM States, Inc. He has held several leadership positions in state government, which includes chairing the House Committee on Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications from 2016 to 2018. Ober is a graduate of Purdue University Northwest.

“NRRI has distinguished itself as the research arm of NARUC and I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve as chair of the Board of Directors,” said Ober. “NRRI is doing critical work, focusing on contemporary issues facing the industry and I’m eager to build on the successes we have achieved as an organization so far.”

“Commissioner Ober has brought much value to the Board and is consistently demonstrates a keen understanding of the mission of NRRI,” said NARUC President Paul Kjellander of Idaho. “Our members rely on the resources, research and learning opportunities provided by NRRI. We look forward to the leadership of Commissioner Ober and Chairman Danner to continue the positive momentum led by Commissioner Gold.”

NRRI has recently launched the Regulatory Training Initiative, which provides comprehensive training to the regulatory community using a variety of learner-centric, flexible methods.

To learn more about NRRI, visit nrri.org.

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About NRRI

The National Regulatory Research Institute was founded in 1976 by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. NRRI serves as a research arm to NARUC and its members, the utility regulatory commissions of the fifty states and the District of Columbia in the United States. NRRI’s primary mission is to produce and disseminate relevant and applicable research for NARUC members.

About NARUC

NARUC is a non-profit organization founded in 1889 whose members include the governmental agencies that are engaged in the regulation of utilities and carriers in the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. NARUC's member agencies regulate telecommunications, energy, and water utilities. NARUC represents the interests of State public utility commissions before the three branches of the Federal government.