Joseph K. Sullivan (Vice-chair)

Joseph Sullivan was appointed to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission by Governor Tim Walz, effective April 6, 2020, and was appointed Vice Chair on May 21, 2020. He was reappointed by Governor Walz in January 2026.

He previously served as President of the Board of Directors for the Organization of MISO States (OMS). He also serves on the Electric Power Research Institute Advisory Council and Executive Committee, is a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and serves on NARUC Committee on Electricity.

Sullivan previously served as Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Energy Resources at the Minnesota Department of Commerce. In this role, he led the Division and supervised the Minnesota State Energy Office and the Energy Planning and Advocacy unit.

Prior to joining the Minnesota Department of Commerce, he was the Manager of Legislative and External Affairs for the Center for Energy and Environment where he worked with policy makers, regulators, utilities, energy advocates, and other key stakeholders to advance energy efficiency and clean energy policy in Minnesota.

Sullivan also served as the Regional Policy Manager for Wind on the Wires where he worked in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa to advance policies for wind power and transmission access. He began his career by spending six and a half years as a senior attorney at Flaherty & Hood P.A. representing a municipal power agency and Greater Minnesota cities. While at Flaherty & Hood, he worked on renewable energy, transmission issues, state conservation goals, greenhouse gas reduction initiatives, net metering, nuclear waste, and utility taxation issues. Prior to joining Flaherty & Hood, Sullivan worked in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. House Committee on Science and at the Internal Revenue Service.

Commissioner Sullivan holds degrees from Marquette University and University of Wisconsin Law School.