Kimberly O’Guinn has been appointed by the governor to one of three slots on the Arkansas Public Service Commission. The body regulates Arkansas utilities such as natural gas, electricity, water, and pipelines. Commissioners serve six-year terms.
Speaking at a press conference at the state Capitol, the Little Rock-native thanked her family, kept it brief, and indicated she approves of the commission’s recent track record.
“I’m just excited about this appointment and look forward to working with Chairmen Ted Thomas to continue the work of the commission,” said O’Guinn.
O’Guinn has been working for 16 years at the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality as an environmental engineer. Governor Asa Hutchinson said he became familiar with her as the state sorted out regulatory issues with a proposed billion-dollar paper mill, to be run by China-based Sun Paper in south Arkansas.
“I’ve got to know Kim as a result of bringing Sun Paper into Arkansas. She has been instrumental working from an environmental quality standpoint with Sun Paper. That brought her in contact with my office and she’s done extraordinary work,” said the Republican governor.
Hutchinson said outgoing Commissioner Lamar Davis, who had a month left on his term, is moving to private sector employment. Davis announced his resignation publicly last Friday.
The governor’s office outlined some of O’Guinn’s background in a press release.
“O’Guinn earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Oklahoma, where she was designated the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Grant Consortium/NASA EPSCoR fellow. Following her three years with NASA, O’Guinn worked as an Environmental Engineer at the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.”
