Gov. Green appoints Jon Itomura as Chair of the Public Utilities Commission

Gov. Josh Green has appointed Jon Itomura to serve as Chair of the Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission.

Itomura brings more than 25 years of public service and regulatory experience to the commission. Itomura will succeed Leo Asuncion as chair and has resigned from the Campaign Spending Commission to comply with state law. 

From 2003 to 2019, Itomura served as Supervising Attorney for the Division of Consumer Advocacy within the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, where he represented Hawaiʻi’s ratepayers in all matters before the Public Utilities Commission, including cases involving electric, gas, water and telecommunications utilities. He previously served as a Deputy Attorney General and as General Counsel for the Campaign Spending Commission. 

“Jon Itomura brings decades of experience standing up for Hawaiʻi’s utility customers and ensuring our utilities are fair, transparent and accountable,” said Green. “He understands how these systems work, how they affect families and businesses and how important it is to balance affordability, reliability and our clean energy goals. I’m confident he will lead the Public Utilities Commission with integrity and a clear focus on serving the people of Hawaiʻi.”

Itomura holds a Juris Doctor from Seattle University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in environmental biology from the University of Colorado Boulder.

The Public Utilities Commission regulates Hawaiʻi’s electric, gas, water, wastewater and telecommunications utilities, overseeing critical infrastructure that impacts every resident and business across the state.