Public Utility Commission Chairman Gladys M. Brown Thursday announced the Commissioners’ selection of Andrew G. Place as Vice Chairman, effective January 1. He will replace John F. Coleman Jr., who has served as Vice Chairman since 2011 and will remain as a Commissioner with a term expiring April 1, 2017.

“I just want to take this opportunity to thank Vice Chairman Coleman for his diligent service and commitment to the Commission over these past five years,” said Chairman Brown. “We have voted to select as our Vice Chairman Commissioner Andrew Place. Let me add my congratulations to Commissioner Place, who came to the Commission just a few months ago and now has the new challenge of being the Vice Chairman beginning in 2016. I know he is up to the challenge.”

Place joined the Commission on October 1, 2015. Hailing from Greene County, he was nominated as a Commissioner by Gov. Tom Wolf on May 15 and confirmed unanimously by the Senate on September 30. His five-year term expires in 2020.

“When you look back over the past five years, it’s really extraordinary the things that we have addressed as a Commission. I have really enjoyed the role of Vice Chairman, but it is time for a change,” said Coleman. “I am truly looking forward to passing the role of Vice Chairman to Commissioner Place. I think many of you who know him know that he is a very, very capable guy, and I’m sure that he will serve us all very well as Vice Chairman of the Commission.”

Place said, “I certainly, absolutely appreciate the privilege and honor of serving, and I look forward to the challenges. My great gratitude [goes] to Vice Chairman Coleman, who, among others on the Commission, has been extraordinary in [his] guidance getting me up to speed on the issues as we’ve seen them.”

Prior to his appointment to the Commission, Place was the corporate director for energy and environmental policy at EQT Corporation, where he focused on the economic, social and environmental balance inherent in energy policy choices. He also worked to establish the Center for Sustainable Shale Development and has served roles at the Department of Environmental Protection.

Additionally, Place was a research fellow at Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Engineering and Public Policy and has taught at the University as an adjunct professor.

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12/21/2015