Press Release

PUC Commissioner Zerfuss Appointed to Newly Formed Presidential Task Force on Evolving Gas Infrastructure Planning

Published on 9/26/2023

Filed under: Electric Gas

Joint Initiative of NARUC, U.S. DOE Will Facilitate the Development of State Planning Roadmaps for Enhanced Gas Infrastructure and Utility Decarbonization

HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) Commissioner Kathryn L. Zerfuss has been appointed to a newly formed Presidential Task Force on Evolving Gas Infrastructure Planning established by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the United States Department of Energy (DOE).

Launched in July, the new national task force will assist state commissions in developing their own roadmaps related to gas distribution infrastructure planning and future technology investment options to achieve utility decarbonization in the coming decades.

“I am honored to be appointed and represent Pennsylvania on the Task Force on Evolving Gas Infrastructure Planning,” Commissioner Zerfuss said.  “State-level decarbonization goals present utility regulators and jurisdictional utilities with new and complex challenges – with many regulators lacking sufficient information to make gas investment decisions within current frameworks.

“This task force and the collaboration and cooperation it brings will provide needed guidance and support to utility regulators related to the issues, potential solutions, and investment options surrounding gas infrastructure planning.”

Commissioner Zerfuss added that over the next two years, the task force will move through a two-phase effort to develop and provide technical and policy guidance along with the needed tools to assist regulators – including, but not limited to, a toolkit with strategic and tactical resources that can be immediately used by state commissions.  The task force’s kick-off workshop is planned for November 2023.

In addition to this most recent task force appointment, Commissioner Zerfuss also serves as a member of NARUC’s Committee on Energy Resources and the Environment.  She was nominated to serve as Commissioner by Governor Tom Wolf on Sept. 20, 2022, and subsequently confirmed by the Pennsylvania Senate on Oct. 19, 2022.  Her term will expire on April 1, 2026.

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  Deputy Press Secretary
  717-772-2766
  dhixson@pa.gov