Commissioners

Letha Tawney, Chair

Letha Tawney was appointed to the Oregon Public Utility Commission by Governor Kate Brown in June 2018 and appointed Chair in June 2025 by Governor Tina Kotek. Chair Tawney has worked regionally and nationally on affordable clean energy deployment, solutions for energy burdened households, and utility wildfire risk mitigation. She represents Oregon on the Electricity and the Critical Infrastructure committees for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). She also served on the Energy Trust of Oregon board from 2019 through 2024.

Throughout her tenure, Chair Tawney has championed regional cooperation that supports affordability and reliability. She serves as the Vice-Chair of the Committee of State Representatives (COSR) for the Western Resource Adequacy Program (WRAP), having engaged in the program since its inception. She has also served on the Western Energy Market’s Body of State Regulators (WEM-BOSR) since 2018, including terms as Vice-Chair and Chair. She previously served as the Vice-Chair of the Markets+ States Committee (MSC) and as the BOSR Representative to the WEM Governance Review Committee. She was a founding sponsor of the West Wide Pathways Initiative, closely engaging to center customer protection and benefits.

Prior to her appointment, Chair Tawney was the World Resources Institute Polsky Chair for Renewable Energy where she propelled innovation in utility business and regulatory models and was a founding principal of the Clean Energy Buyers Alliance (CEBA). Commissioner Tawney holds a Master’s of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Partial Term: June 18, 2018 – May 31, 2020

First Full Term: June 1, 2020 - May 31, 2024

Second Full Term: June 1, 2024 - May 31, 2028

Les Perkins, Commissioner

Les Perkins was appointed to the Oregon Public Utility Commission by Governor Tina Kotek in February 2024. He currently serves on the Energy Trust of Oregon Board of Directors.

Prior to his appointment, Commissioner Perkins represented the rural south end of Hood River County as a Hood River County Commissioner since 2001. While serving as a Commissioner, Perkins represented Hood River County on the board of the Community Renewable Energy Association where he served as Chair. Perkins also served in leadership roles with the Association of Oregon Counties, most recently as Co-Chair of the Natural Resources Legislative Committee, which included energy. Perkins was a longtime member of the Hood River Energy Council which developed an energy plan for Hood River County. Additionally, he gained expertise in energy and water utility management as general manager of the Farmers Irrigation District, which owns and operates two in-conduit hydropower facilities. Commissioner Perkins was also co-founder of Farmers Conservation Alliance, a non-profit focused on finding resource solutions for rural communities, specifically around energy and water.

Commissioner Perkins holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Lewis and Clark College.

Term: March 18, 2024 – February 15, 2028

Karin Power, Commissioner

Karin Power was appointed to the Oregon Public Utility Commission by Governor Tina Kotek in February 2025.

Prior to her appointment, Commissioner Power served as Governor Kotek’s Natural Resources and Climate Advisor and as a State Representative from 2017 to 2023. Earlier in her career she served as Associate General Counsel for The Freshwater Trust, advising the organization and its clients on environmental compliance solutions for municipalities and public and private utilities. While in the role of State Representative, Power served as Chair of the House Energy and Environment Committee, as Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Carbon Reduction, and on other judicial, early learning, and environmental and natural resource policy and budget committees in the Legislature. Power has also served on the board of Clackamas Community College and as a Milwaukie City Councilor. Her professional work has focused on issues of energy affordability, sustainability, and market-based environmental solutions.

Commissioner Power holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Mount Holyoke College and a Juris Doctor from Lewis & Clark Law School, with a Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law.

Term: June 1, 2025 – May 20, 2029