WIRAB Leadership Announcement
On June 6, 2023, the Western Interconnection Regional Advisory Body (WIRAB) elected a new leadership team to guide the organization.
Mary Throne, Chairman of the Wyoming Public Service Commission, was elected as the Chair of WIRAB. Governor Mark Gordon appointed Commissioner Throne to the Wyoming Public Service Commission in March 2019 and reappointed her to a six-year term in 2021. Prior to serving on the Commission, Mary had an extensive legal career working in the natural resource and environmental law fields and served ten years in the Wyoming Legislature. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Princeton University and received her Juris Doctor Degree from Columbia Law School. In addition to participating in a variety of NARUC committees, Commissioner Throne has been the Wyoming representative to WIRAB since February 2021, Vice-Chair since April 2022, and has served as the WIRAB-appointed Regulatory Liaison to the CAISO’s RC West since March 2020.
Lea Márquez Peterson, Commissioner at the Arizona Corporation Commission, was elected as the WIRAB Vice-Chair. Commissioner Márquez Peterson was elected to the Arizona Corporation Commission in November 2020 after being appointed by Governor Ducey in 2019. She was sworn in on January 4, 2021, and selected by her fellow commissioners to lead the ACC as Chair, which she served for two years. Lea has been an entrepreneur in Arizona and supports Arizona’s small business community and its economic development. In her capacity as Commissioner, Lea serves on the board of EPRI, co-Vice Chair of the NARUC’s Water Committee, and is a member of NARUC’s nuclear power subcommittee. She also serves on the Advisory Council to the Center for Public Utilities at New Mexico State University. She holds an undergraduate degree in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the University of Arizona and a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University. Lea has served as Arizona’s representative on WIRAB since June 2021.
Official actions of WIRAB are taken based upon the affirmative vote of at least one-half of the organization’s members, provided that the affirmative votes also represent at least one-half of the electric energy consumed in WIRAB states and provinces. Commissioners Throne and Márquez Peterson were unanimously been elected to the roles of WIRAB Chair and Vice Chair, respectively by WIRAB representatives from Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.