Nevada Public Utilities Commission chair leaving

The chairman of Nevada’s Public Utility Commission is leaving to become chief general counsel for the Nevada System of Higher Education.

“I’m passionate about education and I think it’s a good time for me to move from the PUC,” said Joe Reynolds.

He pointed out while he has a law degree, his undergraduate degree is in education and, “I’m a product of the NSHE system,” having graduated from UNLV.

He has been at the PUC nearly two years and is proud of the progress that agency has made on a number of fronts including “getting rooftop solar energy and net metering back on track.”

“When the governor asked me to come over here, things were struggling in the wake of net metering decisions by the former PUC,” he said.

He said during his tenure, PUC also updated its mission statement and ethics standards and began live streaming public meetings on the Internet.

He said he’s also proud they were able to approve two general rate cases and cut the average monthly bills for residents in each of those cases.

As for the future, Reynolds said the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) is coming and includes long term planning for state energy needs and procurement with historic, large scale solar projects proposed.

Before moving to the PUC, Reynolds was general counsel to Gov. Brian Sandoval and, prior to that, chief litigation deputy for then-Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto.

He will start at NSHE on Aug. 27.