The Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) has a full complement of commissioners after the Virginia General Assembly approved two new members last week.

The legislature picked Kelsey Bagot, a former staffer of FERC Commissioner Mark Christie who was working at NextEra Energy, and Sam Towell, who is associate general counsel for Smithfield Foods and previously worked for the state attorney general.

“Kelsey is an excellent choice by the Virginia General Assembly for the State Corporation Commission,” Christie said in an interview Jan. 26. “As a former commissioner on the State Corporation Commission, I know that Kelsey brings exactly the qualities and the dedication to serving the public that the Virginia Commission needs and that the people of Virginia deserve.”

The two new members join Jehmal Hudson, who has been the only member of the state regulator since former Chair Judith Jagdmann stepped down in 2022.

The issues with staffing the SCC go back to when Jimmy Dimitri stepped down in 2018 and the legislature failed to find a long-term replacement for him. Dimitri has, however, been able to come back and help move needed business with Hudson in recent months because the body requires two votes for a quorum. The general assembly, which has seen its chambers flip between Republicans and Democrats multiple times in recent years, likewise had been unable to find a long-term replacement for Christie, who served on the SCC for nearly 17 years before joining FERC in 2020.

“I’m very, very happy that finally, after three years, all three seats are filled with permanent appointments, permanent elections, and they’re all three quality people,” Christie said. “The State Corporation Commission of Virginia is the most important state agency in Virginia that most people have never heard of.”

The SCC oversees energy, as well as large swaths of the state economy, including all insurance (it helps set up the state marketplace for health insurance under Obamacare), banking, securities, retail franchises and railroads. It also is the state’s central filing office for corporations, limited partnerships and LLCs.

“I think it’s the outstanding regulatory agency in America at the state level, based on the history and based on the broad jurisdiction,” Christie said.