History and Leadership
Established in 1996, the Tennessee Public Utility Commission (TPUC) was created to meet the challenge of the changing telecommunications and utility environment. The Tennessee Public Utility Commission is charged with the responsibility of setting the rates and service standards of privately owned telephone, natural gas, electric, and water utilities.
In 2017, Governor Bill Haslam signed legislation officially renaming the Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA). The agency's new name, the Tennessee Public Utility Commission (TPUC), was a move to align Tennessee with regulatory industry standards. In addition, the legislation also changed the title of the Commission’s leadership board members from Directors to Commissioners, again to establish commonality with similar public utility commissions across the country.
Organizationally, the Tennessee Public Utility Commission consists of an Executive Director, Earl Taylor, and five divisions. The five divisions include Consumer Services, managed by Stacy Balthrop; Gas Pipeline Safety, managed by Bryce Keener; Information Technology, managed by Tracy Stinson; Legal, managed by Kelly Grams; and Utilities, managed by David Foster.
The staff of the Tennessee Public Utility Commission is made up of various professional disciplines, including accountants, administrators, attorneys, consumer specialists, economists, engineers, information technology specialists, policy advisors, and office support personnel.
The Tennessee Public Utility Commission is located in the Andrew Jackson building downtown Nashville, TN. The address is 502 Deaderick Street, 4th Floor. The Tennessee Public Utility Commission is one half mile from the three major interstate systems: I-24, I-40, and I-65.