SPP announced Friday it has hired Kentucky Public Service Commissioner Talina Mathews as its director of state regulatory policy, effective Aug. 16.

Mathews will be responsible for the RTO’s state regulatory policy efforts and support the organization’s work on related RTO policy matters. She was appointed to the PSC in 2017.

Mathews has served on the Organization of MISO States and as president of the Organization of PJM States Inc. She also served as president of the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.

In a statement, Mathews said she was excited to join SPP during an important time in the evolution of RTOs. “The issues have become more complex, but the mission remains constant: reliability of the bulk wholesale power system.”

Mathews is expected to focus her attention on the Eastern Interconnection. SPP late last year hired former Wyoming Public Service Commissioner Kara Fornstrom to a similar position in the Western Interconnection.