The Public Utilities Board (PUB) has a new chair, vice-chair and commissioner, Minister of Justice and Public Safety Andrew Parsons announced on Wednesday.
Darlene Whalen was previously vice-chair with the PUB, and was appointed chair effective immediately. Whalen was appointed as a full-time commissioner and vice-chair of the PUB in May 2000, after a three-year term as a part-time commissioner. Whalen is also a registered professional engineer.
Dwanda Newman, whose current 10-year term as a commissioner expires in April, was appointed vice-chair effective immediately. Newman was appointed as a full-time commissioner in April 2008, after six years as legal counsel to the board.
John O’Brien is a newly-appointed commissioner who will start on April 9. For the past three years, O’Brien was director of financial services regulation with ServiceNL. Before that, he was a partner with a national accounting firm.
“We are very pleased to appoint these commissioners as each individual is qualified for the role and I am sure they will continue to contribute significantly to the important work of the PUB,” said Parsons.
The Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities is a regulatory body responsible for the regulation of electric utilities in the province, as well as ensuring fairness in marketing of petroleum products and supervising auto insurance rates.
