Walz appoints career regulator for seat on Minnesota Public Utilities Commission

Gov. Tim Walz has appointed Hwikwon Ham to a four-year term on the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC), naming a staff supervisor at the agency with 20 years of experience in energy regulation and analysis in state government.

Walz said Wednesday in a statement that Ham will bring "technical expertise and a deep knowledge of Minnesota's energy grid to the PUC."

The PUC oversees electric and natural gas utilities in the state, and the construction of transmission lines, pipelines and other large energy infrastructure. It also regulates the telecom industry.

The agency's role in state government is particularly notable at a time when the energy sector is moving away from fossil fuels in Minnesota and utilities are building large-scale projects such as wind and solar farms to meet the state's directive for a carbon-free energy grid by 2040 to address climate change.

Since 2016, Ham has supervised the commission's regional energy program, working to promote electric transmission projects and advocating for Minnesota's regulatory program with the regional grid operator, according to a resume submitted to the state in October. Before that, he did planning analysis for the PUC and was an energy rates analyst for the state Department of Commerce.

Ham will finish the six-year term of Matthew Schuerger on the five-member board. Schuerger, an independent, also had a long career as a regulator and is an engineer.

State law allows no more than three PUC commissioners to belong to the same political party, and because three board members are Democrats, Walz could not choose a fellow DFLer. John Tuma is the only Republican on the commission. The governor did not have to name another GOP member.

Walz's announcement did not say whether Ham has a political affiliation, and there are no records of political donations published online by the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board or the Federal Election Commission. Ham said he isn't affiliated with a political party and would describe himself as an independent.

Ham participated in his first PUC meeting on Thursday, sitting in on debate over Otter Tail Power's long-range energy plan.

He said during a break that Minnesota can have an energy transition at a reasonable, affordable cost. "Reliability and affordability will be my focus," Ham said.

He also said he'd be mindful of communities with a history of bearing "additional or excess burden on energy" costs.

"I'll say I strongly focus on numbers," Ham said.

In a cover letter to Walz, he said building electric transmission lines will be "critically important to cost-effectively decarbonize the electric grid." Ham also wrote that the state should deliver clean energy while navigating such challenges as Winter Storm Uri, which slammed the southern U.S. in 2021 and caused natural gas prices in Minnesota to spike.

"We are facing an exciting but challenging time for the energy industry," he said in the letter. "The electric power system is in a rebuilding cycle, and there is a great opportunity to achieve our decarbonization goals at an affordable cost."