Wyoming PSC chairwoman stepping down 4 years before term end

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - The chairwoman of the Wyoming Public Service Commission is resigning four years before her term is scheduled to end to take another job.

Kara Fornstrom has submitted her resignation effective Jan. 15, Gov. Mark Gordon announced Wednesday.

The commission regulates public utilities in Wyoming including gas and electrical service to homes and businesses.

Gov. Matt Mead appointed Fornstrom to the commission in 2013. Gordon reappointed her in 2019 and Fornstrom has served as chairwoman for the past two years.

Matters before the commission during that time included a yearlong investigation questioning Portland, Oregon-based PacifiCorp's plans to shut down coal-fired power generators in Wyoming while getting more electricity from renewable sources. Officials in Wyoming, the top coal-mining state, have criticized those plans.

Fornstrom's term was scheduled to end in 2025. Gordon in a statement praised her "dedication to Wyoming and her diligence and commitment to the ratepayers of the state."

An attorney who lives in Pine Bluffs, Fornstrom in the statement called her eight years on the commission the highlight of her career.

Gordon will begin a process to fill the commission vacancy, Pearlman said.