ATLANTA - Commissioner Stan Wise begins a one-year term as Chairman of the Georgia Public Service Commission (Commission) for 2011, taking the gavel from outgoing Chairman Lauren "Bubba" McDonald,Jr.

Wise is the senior member in tenure on the Commission, and the longest serving statewide constitutional officer in Georgia, having served in office since 1995. He won re-election to the Commission in 2000 and again to a third term in 2006. This will be his fourth tenure as Commission Chair, having previously chaired the Commission in 1997,

1999 and 2006.

The Commission Chairmanship is rotated annually among the five Commission members based on Georgia law and Commission rules. The five Commissioners are statewide constitutional officers responsible for the

regulation of electric, natural gas and telecommunications utilities and

transportation companies operating inside Georgia.

Commissioner Wise is a nationally recognized expert on energy matters, having testified numerous times before Congress. He is an active

participant in the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and served as NARUC President in 2003-2004. He is

also a past President of the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (SEARUC) and serves on the International Relations Committee and the Gas Committee of NARUC. Commissioner Wise's complete biography is on the Commission web site Chairman Wise also announced his Commission assignments for 2011: Commissioner Chuck Eaton, Vice-chairman; Commissioner Lauren "Bubba" McDonald, Jr., Chairman of the Energy Committee; Commissioner H. Doug Everett, Chairman of the Telecommunications Committee; Commissioner Tim Echols, Chairman of the Transportation Committee and the Facilities

Protection Committee. Commissioner Wise, as Chairman, will head the Administrative Affairs Committee.

For more information on the Commission, visit www.psc.state.ga.us.