Dian M. Grueneich was appointed to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in January 2005 and unanimously confirmed by the State Senate in May for a six year term.
Commissioner Grueneich is a nationally recognized expert in energy and environmental issues, with over 30 years of experience in the field. At the CPUC, she focuses on energy efficiency, transmission planning and permitting, climate change, renewable energy resources, and low income consumer issues.
Commissioner Grueneich is the lead Commissioner on energy efficiency and oversees the 3-year, $2.7 billion energy efficiency program of the California investor-owned utilities. She provided leadership for the development of the California Long-Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan and in August 2008, received the national Champion of Energy Efficiency Award by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy for outstanding career-long leadership in the energy efficiency field and innovation in utility regulation.
Addressing the utility needs of low-income consumers is a top priority for Commissioner Grueneich. She has served as the Commission-appointee to California’s Low Income Oversight Board since 2005. She is the Assigned Commissioner on low-income energy cases and is an active supporter of the California Lifeline Telephone Program.
Commissioner Grueneich has raised state and region-wide awareness on the significance of transmission issues and the need to construct transmission to reach renewable-rich areas. She is the Assigned Commissioner on all of the CPUC’s high-priority transmission cases and has been a leader in establishing both the California Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative and the parallel Western Renewable Energy Zone Initiative. She also serves on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Electricity Advisory Committee and the Transmission Expansion Planning Policy Committee of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council.
Commissioner Grueneich strongly supports the development of the “smart grid” and has been the lead Commissioners on two critical California cases, ensuring that cost-effective advanced metering infrastructure, with robust functionality requirements, will be installed in Southern California investor-owned utility service areas beginning in 2008.
Commissioner Grueneich is committed to building partnerships nationally and internationally that advance best practices in clean energy and policies to achieve maximum energy savings. She serves on the U.S. Department of Energy Smart Grid Advisory Committees, the Leadership Council of the China-US Energy Efficiency Alliance, and the International CHP/DHC Collaborative sponsored by the International Energy Agency.
Commissioner Grueneich helped develop the Western Public Utility Commissions’ Joint Action Framework on Climate Change, now adopted by the California, Washington, Oregon, and New Mexico Commissions, and is a member of Governor Schwarzenegger’s Climate Action and Green Action Teams. She serves on the National Association of Regulatory Commissioners’ Task Force on Climate Change and its Energy and Environment Committee and International Committee.
Prior to her appointment, Commissioner Grueneich served as a Board member of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and is a past-President of the California League of Conservation Voters. She is a graduate of Stanford University and holds a J.D. from Georgetown University.