The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin has announced new appointments within the Commissioners’ Office and the Division of Energy Regulation and Analysis. The appointments were effective February 5, 2024. Commissioner Kristy Nieto announced the appointment of Matt Sweeney as her Executive Assistant (EA). Each Commissioner at the PSC has one EA who advises on issues and matters before the PSC. Matt most recently served as a key advisor to Chairperson Valcq and oversaw the PSC’s public communications, external stakeholder outreach, and legislative affairs. Matt served as the agency’s liaison to Wisconsin’s tribal nations and as the chairperson’s designee on the Wisconsin Public Utility Institute’s Board of Directors. With over 17 years of experience working in state government, Matt previously held policy advisor and legislative relations positions at the Wisconsin Department of Revenue and in the Office of the Governor.

Commissioner Summer Strand assumed the role of chairperson beginning February 5, 2024. Her team includes Kara Pennoyer as the Chief of Staff, Tanner Blair as Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs, and Meghan Sovey as Director of Communications and External Affairs. Commissioner Strand announced the appointment of Kate Christensen as Administrator of the Division of Energy Regulation and Analysis (DERA). DERA is responsible for supporting the mission of the Commission to assure safe, reliable, and fair provision of electricity and natural gas for the customers of the utilities it regulates and ensures Wisconsin’s involvement in regional energy issues. Kate Christensen joined the Commission as a Utility Rate Analyst in 2014. Since 2019, she had served as the Director of Natural Gas Analysis and Safety in the Commission’s Division of Energy Regulation and Analysis. Prior to joining the Commission, Christensen was the Environmental and Utilities Resource Coordinator at Carroll University in Waukesha. As a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, Kate serves on the Staff Subcommittee on Natural Gas and the Task Force on Natural Gas Resource Planning. She holds an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science from Alverno College and has completed post-graduate courses in planning and management at Johns Hopkins University. She currently resides in Ixonia with her son Reid.