Greene County farmer named to PUC
Raising sheep on a 210-acre farm in Greene County keeps the newest member of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission grounded.
Andrew Place Thursday was sworn into office in Harrisburg. He will be dividing his time between offices in Harrisburg and Pittsburgh and his farm in Greene County.
“We raise sheep on 210 acres in Washington Township. We’ve been there since 1989. It’s a very important part of my life. Living in Greene County keeps you grounded,” Place said.
Place is also the only member of the commission to live west of the Allegheny Mountains, bringing, he says, geographic diversity to the panel that oversees so many elements of life in the commonwealth, from electricity and natural gas rates to taxi services and pipeline safety. Place said he is looking forward to his new duties.
“It’s an extraordinary broad obligation,” Place said of the role of the PUC. “It’s hard to pass up such a broad-sweeping mandate that affects so many aspects of life.”
Place most recently served as the director for energy and environmental policy for EQT Corporation, a natural gas producer with 1,750 employees in six states. While with EQT, Place was instrumental in the creation of the nonprofit Center for Sustainable Shale Development. The center is a collaboration between industry, environmental and community to establish best practices to reduce the hazards of gas drilling. As required by law, Place resigned from EQT prior to being sworn into office as a PUC commissioner.
As part of his new duties, Place will participate in monthly hearings for rate changes and other matters that come before the commission. Place said he also would like to use his new position to educate consumers in western Pennsylvania and to bring the resources of the region to his work with the PUC.
In addition to his policy work with EQT, Place’s background includes being former acting deputy secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection. He also served as a research fellow at Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Engineering and Public Policy, where he has also served as an adjunct professor.
Place was confirmed by a vote of 48-0 by the state Senate. Place was nominated to the commission in May by Gov. Tom Wolf.
Place lives in Greene County with his wife, Stacey, son Aidan and daughter Emma.