Gov. Mark Dayton has appointed Nancy Lange to the Public Utilities Commission.
She'll be one of five appointed commissioners who regulate the state's electricity, natural gas, and telephone industries and assure that the services are safe, reliable and reasonably priced.
Lange, a Democrat, is now manager of policy and engagement at the Center for Energy and Environment's Innovation Exchange, where she works on energy efficiency research and programs. She previously was energy program director at the Izaak Walton League of America,
She replaces Phyllis Reha, who'd been appointed in 2001 by Gov. Jesse Ventura and reappointed in 2007 by Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
The five PUC commissioners are appointed by the governor; no more than three can be from the same political party, and one must live outside the seven-county metropolitan area.
The other commissioners, who serve staggered six-year terms and work full time at the job, are:
- Chair Beverly Jones Heydinger, Democrat appointed by Dayton
- David C. Boyd, Republican appointed by Pawlenty
- J. Dennis O'Brien, Republican appointed by Pawlenty
- Betsy Wergin, Republican appointed by Pawlenty.