OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee today appointed Ann Rendahl to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC), effective Jan. 1, 2015.
Rendahl is a 21-year veteran with the agency, both on its staff and as outside legal counsel. She has been its legislative and policy director since 2010, and was previously director of administrative law. She began her career as an assistant attorney general representing the commission’s regulatory staff in rate cases and other proceedings, and later served more than a decade as an administrative law judge for the commission.
“The UTC regulates many industries that drive our state’s economy and impact consumers. It’s essential that our commission is able to serve the public by addressing the complexities those industries face today, while also keeping an eye towards where these industries are heading into the future,” Inslee said. “Ann has a commendable level of expertise and I am confident her knowledge of the commission’s work and the ways it affects the people and businesses of Washington will allow her to help shape the commission’s actions for the future.”
The UTC regulates the rates and services of the state’s investor-owned electric and natural gas utilities, landline telephone companies, solid waste haulers, and private water systems, among other industries. The agency also manages the state’s pipeline, railroad, and intrastate bus and trucking safety programs.
Rendahl succeeds Commissioner Jeffrey Goltz, who announced last August that he would retire at the end of his six-year term on Dec. 31.
“I am honored by the appointment and eager to step into my new role,” Rendahl said. “Jeff’s retirement leaves big shoes to fill, and I will strive to meet the same high standards.”
Rendahl is a graduate of Wellesley College, and has a master’s degree in public policy from the University of California at Berkeley and a law degree from Hastings Law School at the University of San Francisco. She and her husband, Paul, live in Tacoma with their three children.