State Commissions
Andrew French is Chair of the Kansas Corporation Commission.
At the Kansas Corporation Commission, the PUF team found a nation-leading trucking safety program, one of two states that regulate utilities and the oil and gas industry through the same agency, a Chair chosen to sit on the Federal-State Task Force on Electric Transmission, and too much to name here. Kansas is grappling with a multitude of issues. The Kansas Commissioners and Staff share their thoughts here.
PUF's Lori Burkhart: How did your background lead you to the Commission?
Chair French: I worked at the Kansas Court of Appeals after law school, but then found my way to the KCC as a Staff attorney and held a number of attorney positions of increasing responsibility, eventually ending up as senior litigation counsel.
Then I went into private practice representing large volume industrial consumers, mostly on electrical issues. I also represented all the local school districts in the Kansas City area. These were mostly in proceedings before the Kansas Corporation Commission.
When there was a Commissioner vacancy, the governor's office reached out. It was a difficult decision for me at that point in time. I'd only been in private practice for a few years, still building my career, but it was an opportunity to serve my home state and make a positive impact on the lives of Kansans.