The Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP)® today announced the appointment of two new senior leaders to its U.S. Program. Jay Griffin has joined RAP as its new executive chair, U.S. Program, and Sarah Freeman will join as principal, U.S. Program, after her service on the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission ends in October. Both bring extensive experience at utility regulatory commissions, positioning RAP to better deliver on its mission and new U.S. strategy.
Jay Griffin
Jay Griffin has joined RAP as U.S. Program executive chair. He served as a commissioner and chair of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (HPUC) from 2017 through 2022. During his term, Griffin led comprehensive reform of Hawaiian Electric’s regulatory framework to a performance-based regulation model. For this work, the Smart Electric Power Alliance recognized the HPUC with a “Regulatory Innovation Power Player of the Year” award.
Griffin was a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners Committee on Energy Resources and the Environment and participated in the association’s Joint Task Force on Comprehensive Electricity Planning with the National Association of State Energy Officials.
Prior to his appointment to the HPUC, Griffin led renewable integration studies for the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii and worked as the Hawaii commission’s chief of policy and research from 2012 to 2016.
Sarah Freeman
Sarah Freeman will join RAP as principal, U.S. Program, following her service as commissioner at the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission from September 2016 through October 2025, completing 28 years of service to the state of Indiana. Freeman served in various roles advancing national thought leadership in the energy industry, including as chair of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners Subcommittee on Education and Research; chair of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator Advisory Committee; member of the Electric Power Research Institute Advisory Council; vice chair of the Financial Research Institute Advisory Council at the University of Missouri; and president of the board of directors of the Organization of MISO States. She is the most recent past president of the Mid-America Regulatory Conference.
Prior to her tenure as commissioner, Freeman served as a senior staff attorney with the nonpartisan Indiana Legislative Services Agency, where she drafted utility and transportation legislation and served as counsel to numerous legislative committees.
Statement from RAP’s CEO
On these recent appointments, RAP’s chief executive officer, Katherine Dixon, said:
“In the face of rising load growth, higher energy bills and mounting pressure on the grid, I am delighted to welcome Jay Griffin and Sarah Freeman to RAP’s U.S. senior leadership team. Together, they will launch a new Council of Commissioners.
“This council will convene a cross-national, bipartisan group of former utility commissioners. At a time when energy issues are becoming increasingly politicized, their experience will help today’s decision-makers cut through the noise, focus on the most urgent challenges, and set the course toward the affordable, clean energy all Americans deserve.”
The Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP)® is an independent global organization with a mission of advancing policy innovation and thought leadership within the energy community.
RAP uniquely combines trusted peer experience with cutting-edge technical knowledge and an ambitious vision, equipping policymakers to confidently advance evidence-driven regulatory reforms at the scale necessary to meet urgent public interest goals.