Uniontown native appointed PUC commissioner
A Uniontown native was appointed as a commissioner on the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
Stephen M. DeFrank was nominated to the post by Gov. Tom Wolf, and confirmed by the state Senate last week. His term will expire on April 1, 2025.
Before joining the PUC, DeFrank worked as government relations professional at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, after spending 24 years of his career in Pennsylvania state government, including time with the state Senate, where he served as chief of staff/executive director to Sen. Lisa M. Boscola, Democratic chair of the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee.
DeFrank is experienced in public policy formulation and regulatory review relative to energy and utility sectors. He has worked on the enactment of numerous pieces of legislation over the past decade, including expansion of the distribution system improvement charge, legalization of transportation network company services and the reauthorization of Chapter 14 of the Public Utility Code.
As a commissioner, he plans to initially focus on a couple of areas of utility regulation, including the delivery of safe and reliable utility service to ratepayers; the rebuilding of aging utility distribution infrastructure; and preparation for cyber threats to utility distribution systems.
DeFrank currently lives in Harrisburg and is married with two daughters.