Commissioner Burman of New York to Lead NARUC Committee on Gas

WASHINGTON—Commissioner Diane X. Burman, of the New York State Public Service Commission, has been appointed as chairman of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners Committee on Gas. Burman served previously as co-vice chair.

In addition to the Committee on Gas, Burman is a member of the NARUC Board of Directors, the Committee on Critical Infrastructure and NARUC’s Subcommittee on Pipeline Safety. She also serves on the Gas Technology Institute Public Interest Advisory Committee and chairs the NARUC Department of Energy Natural Gas Infrastructure Modernization Planning Initiative. Other related activities includes membership on the 2018 World Gas Conference National Organizing Committee, chair of the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Voluntary Information-Sharing Working Group and vice chair of PHMSA Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee.

“We are fortunate to have someone with Commissioner Burman’s depth of knowledge and experience leading the work of our Committee on Gas,” said NARUC President John Betkoski III. “She has an outstanding record of service to NARUC and its members and is deeply committed to leveraging her extensive insights to advance greater understanding of highly complex natural gas issues.”

“I am truly honored to chair the Committee on Gas, and I thank President Betkoski for this opportunity,” Burman said. “This is a crucial time, as energy regulators, to be involved with natural gas.  The Gas Committee fosters awareness and understanding of issues affecting the transportation, distribution and sale of natural gas in a safe, efficient, economic and environmentally responsible way. Critical issues will include pipeline safety, energy efficiency, review of appropriate policies to enhance and modernize the natural gas utility infrastructure, the importance of fostering new technologies, electricity and natural gas interdependencies, the use of natural gas for transportation, liquefied natural gas exports and much more.  We also stand ready as a Committee to work closely with FERC, DOE and DOT on matters of critical importance to the Committee, including the review of the FERC’s 1999 Pipeline Policy Statement.”

New York PSC Chair John B. Rhodes said, “We are proud that Commissioner Burman has been given this opportunity to bring her great knowledge about natural gas issues to the national stage and to the national discussion.” 

Before joining the Commission, she served on the New York State Senate as chief counsel and chief legislative legal officer and was also Special Counsel to the NY State PSC prior to her state Senate work positions. She has held a number of other legal and management positions with various organizations, including executive director of the New York State PTA, assistant executive director of the Albany Jewish Community Center and director of pro bono affairs for the New York State Bar Association. In addition, she has served in several high-level positions within state government, including assistant counsel with the Department of Economic Development, assistant attorney general in the Department of Law, senior court attorney with the Unified Court System, and as a judicial clerk for the New York State Court of Appeals. She was also an adjunct legal professor at Hofstra University and Adelphi University.

Burman obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Molloy College and a Juris Doctor degree from Fordham University School of Law.

Committee chairs are appointed by the NARUC President for a one-year term and may be reappointed for a maximum of three consecutive terms. Commissioner Julie Fedorchak, of the North Dakota Public Service Commission, serves as co-vice chair of the Committee on Gas.

About NARUC

NARUC is a non-profit organization founded in 1889 whose members include the governmental agencies that are engaged in the regulation of utilities and carriers in the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. NARUC’s member agencies regulate telecommunications, energy, and water utilities. NARUC represents the interests of State public utility commissions before the three branches of the Federal government.