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LACEY, Wash. - The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) selected Utilities and Transportation Chair David Danner as the 2023 Terry Barnich Award recipient. Danner has served as chair for the NARUC Committee on International Relations from August 2016 to November 2019 and remains active.
“As the chair of NARUC’s International Relations Committee and chair of ICER, I am more convinced than ever of the value of NARUC’s international work,” said Danner. “Regulators around the world are dealing with the same issues we face here at home, whether it’s pipeline safety, rate design, carbon reduction, wildfire response, or the adoption of new technologies, and we all have much to learn from and share with each other. I am truly honored by this award and hope to continue my work with NARUC’s international programs going forward.”
The award recognizes state commissioners and staff who promote international cooperation among utility regulators and the development of professional regulation. The Barnich Award is the highest honor given by the NARUC Committee on International Relations. Learn more about the award at www.naruc.org/barnichaward.
Gov. Inslee appointed Danner chair of the Utilities and Transportation Commission in February 2013 and re-appointed him to a second term in December 2018. Danner has a long history of leadership in international energy and served as chair of the International Confederation of Energy Regulators from February 2020 to August 2023. He also served on the National Regulatory Research and the State Technology Services board. Danner currently serves on advisory boards for the Critical Consumer Issues Forum and the Center for Public Utilities at the New Mexico State University College of Business.
The UTC regulates the rates and services of the state’s investor-owned electric and natural gas utilities, landline telephone companies, solid waste haulers, private water systems, and residential movers, among other industries. The agency also manages the state’s pipeline, railroad, and intrastate bus and trucking safety programs.
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