Chief for Policy and Research
Dave Parsons is chief for policy and research at the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission.
PUF: What is your role here at the PUC?
Dave Parsons: I'm the Chief of Policy and Research.
PUF: What do you do on a typical day?
Dave Parsons: It varies quite a bit day to day, but I spend a lot of my time working with my Staff and different teams at the Commission, making sure everything is moving along, helping people with their projects, and working with the Commissioners, talking about different initiatives and active dockets to keep them up to speed on what's going on. I also spend a lot of time in meetings with various stakeholders participating in the different proceedings. We've got a lot of balls in the air.
PUF: Would you be an expert witness or put an expert witness on?
Dave Parsons: We don't testify, generally. Our Staff is advisory, so we're an extension of the Commissioners. Our job is to investigate the issues before the Commission and advise the Commissioners in their decision-making. The work can take many forms, including review and analysis of the filings that we get.
Some of it is research about emerging technology or other things that are happening in the industries we regulate. But overall, what we're doing is helping the Commissioners sort through all this and giving them our recommendations on the best options to move forward.
PUF: How do you balance everything and prioritize?