SACRAMENTO: Report, commentary, California Public Utilities Commission, new appointee, Carla Peterman to replace Timothy Simon....

* KPBS:  "Governor Brown Makes New Appointment to California Public Utilities Commission" - From KPBS:

There will be a new voice at the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates power companies including San Diego Gas & Electric.

A proposed power plant in Otay Mesa will be among the first issues that new Commissioner Carla Peterman and her colleagues will consider. Peterman is a 34-year-old Rhodes scholar who has served on the California Energy Commission since 2011. Before that, she did research at the University of California Energy Institute. She’s working on a Ph.D. in energy and resources at UC Berkeley..........

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* San Francisco Chronicle (Matier & Ross):

In what appears to be a nod to both consumers and renewable-energy fans, Gov. Jerry Brown has tagged Carla Peterman to replace Timothy Simon on the California Public Utilities Commission. Simon was viewed as a friend of the utilities - and also a friend of Chronicle columnist and former Mayor Willie Brown. Peterman, on the other hand, is a former board member of The Utility Reform Network, which has often crossed swords with the commission.

It's the second time the governor has picked a commissioner from the ranks of TURN. The first was Mike Florio, a lawyer for the group. Not that it always goes the consumers' way. Florio, for example, angered his old allies last week when he backed a deal to stick customers with two-thirds of the cost of fixing PG&E's neglected gas system.

"I think what everyone wants to see is truly independent commissioners who are not beholden to any special interests," said TURN spokeswoman Mindy Spatt. Even their own.