Former Commissioner, California PUC
Commissioner Emeritus Timothy Alan Simon was appointed to the California Public Utilities Commission by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2007. Simon served as Chair of the NARUC Gas Committee.
Previously, Simon was in-house counsel and compliance officer with Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Robertson Stephens, advising in securities, banking and complex financial products. In 2013 Simon created TAS STRATEGIES and serves as an attorney and consultant on utility, infrastructure, financial services and broadband projects.
PUF's Steve Mitnick: You played an important role in the development of diversity spend among utilities in California and nationally. Can you say a few words about what you did, and what your thinking was at the time?
Timothy Alan Simon: Steve, thank you for this opportunity to discuss a topic that's near and dear to my heart. Whether codified or not, diversity is a critical part of the utility regulatory framework. It enhances the ability of investor-owned utilities to achieve hiring and spend for goods and services in a manner that reflects their rate base and the demographics of this nation.
Diversity renders benefits to the utility's shareholders and ratepayers. When we achieve a utility business model that incorporates both supplier and workforce diversity, it's a better reflection of what we should be as a nation.