"Energy is the economy, and considering Rhode Island has the fifth highest energy costs in the nation, a focus on energy policy is a focus on a lifeblood of the economy," said William Felkner, president of the Ocean State Policy Research Institute. "It is exactly for that reason that we at OSPRI are so excited to announce that Ken Malloy will be our Fellow on Carbon and Energy Policy."
 

 

"One of the keys to developing policy," Malloy explains, "is educating the public. I perceive my role as not only an analyst but also an educator."
 
He was the U.S. Department of Energy's lead career official on policies relating to competition, regulatory reform, and industry restructuring over three Administrations (1987 to 1996). A lawyer by training, he has held positions in the areas of natural gas, electricity and oil policy. 
 
He was Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel of the Illinois Commerce Commission, Director and Assistant Director of the predecessor of FERC's Office of Economic Policy, and staff attorney in FERC's Office of General Counsel. During his FERC and DOE tenure, he worked on regulations that encouraged a revolution in policies relating to natural gas markets. One high point was his advocacy of a controversial interpretation of the Natural Gas Policy Act, which was reversed by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals but upheld by a unanimous US Supreme Court decision.
 
Prior to FERC, Ken was a law professor at Western New England College School of Law, teaching in the area of federal economic regulation of industry.

 

"I have been involved in developing energy policies for a long time and have gained experience from all over the world," said Malloy. "But those of us who watch the national scene have noticed a movement of the policy dynamic in Rhode Island and I am excited to join OSPRI in this battle."
 
Ken graduated with honors from Boston College Law School in 1978, where he was a writer and editor of the Boston College Law Review.



About OSPRI:
 
Created in 2007, our work is focused on crafting sound public policy based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, and traditional American values. We offer timely research and analysis on important issues to be shared with elected officials, the media, business leaders, community organizations and individual citizens. In recent months, we have been responsible for such successful projects as the Transparency Train - A public financial and legislative information repository, as well as regular updates published and available on our website and companion blog.
 
About The Transparency Train:
 
The Transparency Train Web Portal (www.transparencytrain.org) provides access to a variety of websites designed to present public information in a Google-style searchable format. These sites include:
RI Data which contains every budget, payroll, public employee contract and monthly check register for all cities, towns and school districts in Rhode Island.
RI Votes which is an online database of legislation and voting records.
LRB Watch provides analysis and information on the State Labor Relations Board.
RI Schools is an interactive website that allows viewers to create comparative graphs of school districts plotting various metrics such as cost per student, test scores and the number of employees (coming Spring 2009).
RI Donors will contain a "connect the dots" approach to viewing political and lobbying finances (coming Fall 2009).
Take Action, a "how-to" manual that shows citizens how to file Freedom Of Information Act requests for public information and what to do if they don't comply.

 

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