 | Ronda Hartman Fergus, CommissionerTerm Ends: April 10, 2010 |
Commissioner Ronda Hartman Fergus is serving her third term at the PUCO. She began her tenure as commissioner in 1995 with an appointment by Gov. George Voinovich and was subsequently reappointed by Gov. Bob Taft in 2000 and 2005 and Gov. Ted Strickland in 2007.
Commissioner Fergus has played an active role in the development of competitive markets in Ohio. She has advised, consulted, and participated in the regulatory and legislative agendas that brought local telephone, natural gas, and electric competition to Ohioans. Recognized especially for her expertise in telecommunications, she has served on state and national task forces to facilitate deployment and competition for e-commerce, broadband, emergency 9-1-1, and local telephony. A member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, Commissioner Fergus also served as an active board member of its research arm, the National Regulatory Research Institute.
No stranger to regulation prior to her first appointment as commissioner, Ms. Fergus, upon receiving her law degree, began her career at the PUCO in 1980. She served as an administrative law judge, was promoted to chief of the telecommunications staff first in the legal department and then in the utilities department, and is still the only staff person to move to the rank of commissioner since the Commission was restructured in 1983. Upon the completion of her current term in 2010, Commissioner Fergus will have 30 years of public service to Ohio in utility regulation.
A faithful alumnus of The Ohio State University, Commissioner Fergus earned both her bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctor there, and continues to occasionally guest lecture on public utilities regulation to graduate students.