Andrew Place
From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 3 min
Andrew G. Place was a commissioner of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. He was nominated by Governor Tom Wolf (D) on May 18, 2015, and assumed office on October 1, 2015.[1]
On April 19, 2020, Place resigned from the commission to accept a climate and energy policy job in another state.[1]
Biography[edit]
Prior to being appointed to the commission, Place served as the corporate director for energy and environmental policy at the EQT Corporation. He also served in the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and has worked as an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University.[2]
Education[edit]
- B.S., in economics, University of Pittsburgh
- M.P.P., in public policy and management, Carnegie Mellon University[2]
Political career[edit]
Public Utility Commission (2015-2020)[edit]
Place served on the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission from October 2015 to April 2020. Place served as vice chairman of the commission from 2015 to 2018.[1]
Noteworthy events[edit]
Fines levied against ride-sharing companies operating illegally[edit]
In April 2016, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission levied an $11.4 million dollar fine against ride-sharing company Uber Technologies Inc.—11 times the amount of the highest fine the commission had ever imposed.
Uber and Lyft, another ride-sharing company, were granted temporary licenses to operate within the state in late 2014 but had begun operations prior to receiving them. The commission's bureau of investigations filed formal complaints against the companies for operating without a license and for ignoring cease-and-desist orders in 2014. Lyft ultimately settled with the commission for $250,000 in July 2015.
In November 2015, two judges for the commission recommended a $49.9 million dollar fine for Uber. After consideration, the commission reduced the fine to $11.4 million in April 2016.[3] Uber released a statement saying it was "shocked that the PUC would compound its past mistakes and send the troubling message that Pennsylvania is unwelcoming to technology and innovation" and that they planned to appeal the decision.[4] Governor Tom Wolf (D) signed a letter to the commission in April 2016 saying that the fine "constitute[d] a civil penalty on innovation, threatening the company’s ability to harness new technologies and create the jobs of tomorrow."[4][3][5]
The commission denied the appeal on September 1, 2016, upholding the $11.4 million dollar fine. "We were faced with an unprecedented number of violations by Uber," said commission Chairman Gladys Brown. "When a regulated entity is given notice that it is violating the law and it ignores those notices, it does so to its own detriment."[4]
See also[edit]
| Pennsylvania | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
External links[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Marcellus Drilling News, "Andrew Place, Formerly of EQT, Resigns as PA PUC Commissioner," April 20, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 PR Newswire, "Pennsylvania Governor Wolf Nominates Andrew Place for PUC," May 18, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Reuters, "Uber hit with record $11.4 million fine in Pennsylvania," April 21, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Pittsburg Post-Gazette, "PUC affirms $11.4M penalty for Uber while rejecting appeal," September 1, 2016
- ↑ Philly Voice, "Two Pennsylvania judges want to fine Uber $50 million," November 17, 2015
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Cawley |
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission 2015-2020 |
Succeeded by NA |
| |||||||||||||||||
EncycloReader
is supported by the 
KSF