Overview
- Gov. Gavin Newsom named Commissioner John Reynolds president of the California Public Utilities Commission with instructions to lower bills, tighten oversight and maintain clean-energy progress.
- Former CPUC President Alice Reynolds will move to a seat on the California Independent System Operator’s board; the two Reynolds are not related.
- Newsom appointed Christine Harada to the open commissioner seat, drawing on her recent role as undersecretary at the California Government Operations Agency and prior service at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
- California residents pay the nation’s second-highest electricity rates after Hawaii, according to federal data, as the state advances toward its 2045 carbon‑free energy target.
- John Reynolds previously worked as managing counsel at Cruise and faced 2023 criticism over those ties after safety incidents prompted regulators to revoke the company’s permits.