RALEIGH
May 1, 2017
Governor Cooper has appointed three members to the North Carolina Utilities Commission.
“Affordable and reliable public utilities are vital to North Carolina families and in recruiting new jobs and industry to our state. The Utilities Commission makes decisions that impact the daily lives of millions of people, as well as the growth of our economy, and I’m appointing highly qualified individuals who will be fair and keep North Carolinians’ best interests in mind,” Governor Cooper said.
The Utilities Commission regulates the rates and services for all public utilities in North Carolina, including electric, telephone, natural gas and water services. Seven members appointed by the Governor and approved by the General Assembly serve terms of six years each.
Governor Cooper has nominated the following members to the Utilities Commission:
- ToNola D. Brown-Bland was nominated for reappointment to her current position. She has served on the Utilities Commission since 2009 and serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Regulatory Research Institute. She previously served as President of the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and is a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. Commissioner Brown-Bland previously worked as an attorney for the North Carolina Utilities Commission and as Associate General Counsel for the Greensboro City Attorney’s office. She received her B.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill and her J.D. from the Duke University School of Law.
- Daniel G. Clodfelter was nominated to replace Commissioner Don Bailey. He served as Mayor of Charlotte from 2014-2015, in the NC Senate from 1999-2014, and on the Charlotte City Council from 1987-1993. Mayor Clodfelter has practiced law since 1978, currently as counsel for Parker Poe in Charlotte. A native of Thomasville, NC, he received degrees from Davidson College (B.A.,1972), Oxford University (A.B., 1974), and Yale Law School J.D., 1977).
- Charlotte A. Mitchell was nominated to replace Commissioner Bryan Beatty. She is an attorney in Raleigh, NC, representing public utilities and their customers before the NC Utilities Commission. She is a member of the NC Bar Association and former member of both the NC Mining and Energy Commission and NC Sedimentation and Control Commission. Mitchell was a Morehead Scholar as an undergraduate at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she also attended law school. She received a Master of Environmental Economics and Policy degree from Duke University.