Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: John Reynolds

No. 83

California has its share and yours of carbon reduction mandates. But imposing mandates is one thing; actually meeting them is another thing entirely. There is a small army of people across a wide range of agencies and industries working toward that goal, and California Public Utilities Commission President John Reynolds is one of the generals leading the campaign. He’s only been in the role since February, but he’s been with the CPUC since 2013 so he’s hardly a neophyte. He has big shoes to fill – his predecessor Alice Reynolds has long been one of Gavin Newsom’s most trusted energy advisors and was a regular on this list. So far he appears up to the task, but whether that remains the case is TBD. The transition was driven by Newsom’s desire to see the agency focus more on, among several things, achieving lower utility bills for consumers while also meeting the state’s goal of 100% clean electricity by 2045.