Gov. Ige Designates Griffin as PUC Chair

Gov. David Ige has designated James (Jay) Griffin as Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission (PUC) chairman. Griffin was initially appointed to the commission in May 2017.

James (Jay) Griffin. Courtesy photo.

Griffin previously served as chief of policy and research with the PUC. He was also assistant researcher and assistant specialist with the Hawai‘i Natural Energy Institute.

Griffin has a bachelor’s degree in political economy from Williams College, joint master’s degrees in public policy and environmental management from Duke University, a master’s degree in economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a Ph.D. in policy analysis from Pardee RAND Graduate School in Santa Monica.

“Serving on this commission has been the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Griffin. “I am proud of the progress that we have made and am deeply committed to building on this momentum.”

Griffin becomes PUC chair immediately.