A former member of the state commission that oversees utilities has taken an executive position with electric grid owner and operator American Transmission Co.
Ellen Nowak, who announced earlier this year she would leave her post on the three-member Public Service Commission when her term ended March 1, joined ATC as vice president of regulatory and government affairs and will oversee “state and federal regulatory matters,” according to a brief post on ATC’s website.
ATC company is a multistate transmission-only utility and owns and operates a considerable portion of Wisconsin’s transmission network.
Alissa Braatz, ATC spokesperson, said the company is “extremely pleased to welcome Ellen Nowak to ATC.”
“Ellen’s extensive background in regulatory matters and years of experience with the electric utility industry will help ATC achieve its mission to strengthen the regional electric grid for the benefit of all energy consumers,” Braatz added.
Nowak’s move from state utilities regulator to one of the state’s largest utilities isn’t the first such move in recent history.
Former PSC commissioner Robert Garvin was appointed executive vice president of external affairs of WEC Energy Group in 2015. Former commissioner Ave Bie in 2005 joined the Quarles & Brady law firm representing WE Energies and other regulated utilities. Scott Neitzel, who left the PSC in 1996, later spent time as an executive with Madison Gas and Electric. Former commissioner Lauren Azar represents transmission developers and utilities with Azar Law and Eric Callisto, who departed the commission in 2015, is now a partner with firm Michael Best and helps clients with regulatory filings and other issues before the PSC.
“It just underscores the need for why we need to balance the regulatory process,” said Tom Content, executive director of the state watchdog Citizens Utility Board. “There has been a revolving-door challenge over the years with people regulating the utilities joining the utilities.
“It underscores that the work of representing customers is so critical and the voice of the customers, instead of just the utility shareholders, needs to resonate and be heard by those who make the decisions about our energy rates and our energy future,” Content added.
State law prohibits Nowak from appearing before PSC on behalf of ATC for the first 12 months following her departure from the commission.
Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker appointed Nowak to the commission in 2011. She served as chairwoman from 2015 to 2018, when Walker appointed her to serve as secretary of the state Department of Administration. Nowak rejoined the commission in January 2019 as one of 82 Walker appointees confirmed by the state Senate before Democratic Gov. Tony Evers took office.
Evers tried to rescind several of those appointments, including Nowak’s, but the Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected the effort in a 4-3 ruling in April 2019.
With Nowak’s departure, Evers in March appointed Summer Strand, former administrator of the state Department of Administration’s Division of Facilities Development, to a six-year term on the commission. Her appointment is pending formal approval by the state Senate, where Republicans, who hold a majority in the chamber, have been reluctant to take up several of Evers’ appointments.
Strand’s appointment marked the first time since Evers took office that the PSC has consisted entirely of Democratic appointees.
Strand joined fellow commissioners Rebecca Cameron Valcq, the agency’s current chair who was appointed by Evers in January 2019, and Tyler Huebner, who was appointed by Evers in March 2021.
The 10 Senate seats most likely to flip in 2024
1. West Virginia
2. Montana
3. Ohio
4. Arizona
5. Nevada
6. Wisconsin
7. Pennsylvania
8. Michigan
9. Texas
10. Florida
Analysis: Senate map remains offensive opportunity for Republicans
In a presidential contest cycle, Senate races don’t get the same kind of attention when there’s still a year to go until Election Day. But the start of the second fundraising quarter earlier this month brought a host of new candidate names – some declared and some still biding their time – that will help shape the race for control of the chamber in 2024 and the ultimate power dynamics for whoever is president in 2025.
With more candidates launching their campaigns this month, the prospect of competitive primaries has become more real – especially on the Republican side. That’s especially true in the top three seats most likely to flip, which represent the GOP’s best chances to pick up the one or two seats they’d need to control the chamber, depending on who wins the presidency. (Rankings are based on CNN’s reporting, fundraising figures and historical data about how states and candidates have performed.)
West Virginia’s GOP primary – mainly between the governor and a congressman – was already brewing, but it’s looking even more contentious with outside groups like the Club for Growth’s political arm touting the millions they’re planning to spend. This race will be a marquee battle between the national GOP’s more establishment forces and the conservative outside group. And, as in other races like Montana and Nevada, this one will test the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s new strategy of picking sides in primaries.
It’s impossible to talk about Republican primaries without discussing former President Donald Trump. Ever since 2016, loyalty to him has been a key litmus test for the GOP – often much more than actual conservatism. But adherence to his election conspiracy theories has sometimes hurt Republicans in general elections, with the 2022 midterms being a prime example.
The chairman of the NRSC, Montana Sen. Steve Daines, has endorsed Trump. And for now, at least, the former president appears to be playing along. CNN reported that he’s informed two House Freedom Caucus members whom he’s previously backed – in West Virginia and Montana – that they won’t have his support for the Senate. (In Montana, Rep. Matt Rosendale hasn’t yet announced his campaign but is expected to challenge the NRSC’s preferred candidate.)
This month’s ranking isn’t all about primary drama, however. In Pennsylvania, Republicans breathed a major sigh of relief in May when election denier Doug Mastriano, fresh off his 15-point gubernatorial loss, decided not to run. The expectation that Dave McCormick will get into the race with a clearer lane – and the GOP’s lack of candidates right now in other states – bumps the Keystone State up one spot on this list as slightly more likely to flip.
Overall, the Senate map remains an offensive opportunity for Republicans. Democrats hold seven of the 10 seats most likely to flip next year, an independent holds one and Republicans hold two – a breakdown that’s unlikely to change much, although the order of the ranking will likely evolve in the months to come.