Meet Our Chairman and Commissioners

Commissioner Albert

 Michael A. Albert of Charleston, Kanawha County, was appointed in  February of 2007 to an unexpired term ending June 30, 2007, as  Commissioner of the Public Service Commission of West Virginia. He  was reappointed to a six-year term expiring June 30, 2013. On August  15, 2007, he was appointed PSC Chairman. He previously served as a  Member in the Business Law Department of Jackson Kelly, PLLC,  Charleston, WV, focusing on the areas of public utilities and business  and commercial transactions.

 He has served on the Board and as Chairman of the Board of Directors  for the National Institute for Chemical Studies; the Education Alliance;  Junior Achievement of Kanawha County; Read Aloud West Virginia

Fund Raising Committee; Partnerships in Education Advisory Committee; and the WVU Law School Visiting Committee, 2000. He currently serves as President of the Board of Directors of the Kanawha County Public Library. Chairman Albert graduated from West Virginia University with a B.S. in Business Administration, majoring in Accounting.

Upon graduating, he spent more than three years as an officer in the United States Navy, including a tour of duty in Vietnam. Following an Honorable Discharge, he attended West Virginia University College of Law where he received his Doctorate of Jurisprudence, with honors. He currently resides in Charleston with his wife, Laura Lee. They have three children, Michael, Jason and Melissa and four grandchildren.

Commissioner McKinney

 Jon W. McKinney of Charleston, Kanawha County, was appointed to a six year term  as Commissioner of the Public Service Commission of West Virginia in August  2005. Previously, he served as plant manager of Flexsys’ Nitro operations. Prior to  his last assignment, he has had numerous assignments in manufacturing, R&D,  and marketing with Monsanto Company in locations throughout the U.S.

 He is currently on the Chair of the National Association of Regulatory Utility  Commissioners (NARUC) Clean Coal Subcommittee, President of the Organization  of PJM States, Inc., and on the Board of Directors of NARUC, the Mid--Atlantic  Conference of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners and the Eastern Interconnect  Steering Committee. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Thomas Memorial  Hospital and St. Francis Hospitals in Charleston.

He has served as Chairman of the Chemical Industry Committee for West Virginia for eight years and as a member of the board of directors.

He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, and the University of West Florida, where he earned his master’s degree in business administration. He currently resides in Charleston with his wife Paula. They have two children Lisa and Jason, as well as five grandchildren.

Commissioner Palmer

 Ryan B. Palmer, of Charleston, Kanawha County, was appointed in July 2010 to an  unexpired term ending June 30, 2015, as Commissioner of the Public Service  Commission of West Virginia.  He previously served as Deputy General Counsel to  West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, III; as Attorney/Advisor to Commissioner  Charlotte R. Lane of the United States International Trade Commission and Law  Clerk to the Honorable W. Craig Broadwater of the United States District Court,  Northern District of West Virginia.

 His professional certifications include the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the  United States District Courts for Northern and Southern West Virginia and the West  Virginia State Bar.  He also successfully completed the European Union Law  summer program through the Tulane University College of Law Summer School

Abroad Program at the Tulane Center for European Union Law, University of Amsterdam, in the Netherlands.

He has volunteered for Charleston Area Medical Center’s Challenged Sports Program, which sponsors a variety of statewide sporting competitions for athletes of all ages with physical disabilities, and for the Special Olympics.

Born in Morgantown and raised in St. Albans, he is a graduate of West Virginia University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from the West Virginia University College of Law.  He and his wife Flavia currently reside in Charleston and are expecting their first child.