Water, Telecom, Safety, and Consumers Regulatory Program Director

Initial Posting Date: 08/12/2026 Final date to receive applications: 09/14/2026 Agency:
Public Utility Commission Salary Range: $9,604 - $14,856 Position Type:
Employee

Position Title:

Water, Telecom, Safety, and Consumers Regulatory Program Director

Job Description:

The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) is seeking an accomplished leader with excellent people management skills to become the agency’s Director of the Water, Telecom, Safety, and Consumers Program (WTSC).

This position reports to the agency’s Executive Director and works closely with the Executive leadership team and Commissioners to ensure that the work of the WTSC produces high-quality results and is aligned with the PUC’s mission, objectives, goals, and business needs.

The position leads a team of three direct report managers, and approximately 36 full-time program employees.

The WTSC Director represents the PUC in various external and inter-jurisdictional forums and serves as primary point of contact for many external parties with interest in PUC proceedings, including the Governor’s office, elected officials, and state and federal agencies.

The position works with advisory groups, non-governmental organizations, and other public interest groups. In addition, this position supports, and leads, engagement on regional efforts with other Commissions, states, regulatory bodies, utility service providers, and other interested parties.

The PUC sets utility rates and terms of service through broad delegated legislative responsibility and must balance the interests and rights of multiple organizations and individuals representing divergent and conflicting business, consumer, and public interests.

Investor-owned utilities currently receive approximately $5 billion in revenues annually from 2.4 million Oregon consumers.

The PUC receives no General or Lottery funds, and, instead, is funded through a dedicated per-month fee on regulated natural gas, electric, telecommunication, and water utility bills.

Our mission is to ensure Oregonians have access to safe, reliable, and fairly priced utility services that advance state policy and promote the public interest.

We use an inclusive process to evaluate differing viewpoints and visions of the public interest and arrive at balanced, well-reasoned, independent decisions supported by fact and law.

The WTSC is one of the PUC’s major organizational components. It unites one division and three regulatory programs:
1) The Utility Safety, Reliability, and Security Division;
2) Consumer Services Program;
3) Residential Service Protection Fund Program (RSPF); and
4) Rates & Telecommunications Program.

Together, the WTSC provides safety oversight of Oregon’s electric, telecommunications, and natural gas sectors, and economic regulation of its water, and telecommunications sectors.

The WTSC safeguards consumers, enforces safety and service quality standards, and ensures utilities operate in ways that are affordable, reliable, and accountable to the public.

Its scope includes:
Utility Safety, Reliability, & Security Division:
Reviewing and enforcing Wildfire Mitigation Plans, conducting compliance audits and field inspections, and coordinating the PUC’s participation in Oregon wildfire preparation, mitigation, and response efforts.

This division also advances seismic preparedness, cybersecurity protections, and emergency response planning, directly protecting public safety and reliability of utility service.

Additionally, the Division provides essential oversight and compliance of State and Federal safety standards for natural gas and electric transmission systems and infrastructure.

This work has direct statewide impact on public safety, consumer protection, and critical infrastructure resilience.

Consumer Services:
Providing direct point of contact for consumers across all regulated utility sectors; responds to and resolves thousands of annual complaints received from utility consumers; ensuring regulated utility providers comply with consumer protection laws and identifying systemic service quality issues.

Residential Service Protection Fund (RSPF):
Administering telecommunications access programs,…