Kansas’ top utility consumer advocate resigns to take Washington post

David Springe, the voice of and chief lawyer for Kansas utility consumers for the past 14 years, announced Wednesday that he will be leaving the state to take a job in Washington, D.C., advocating for consumers nationwide.

Springe, chief consumer counsel for the Kansas Citizens’ Utility Ratepayer Board, said he will leave that position in December to become the executive director of the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates.

CURB is the state agency that represents residential and small-business consumers in Kansas utility matters. The national association represents CURB and similar agencies in 40 other states and the District of Columbia.

Springe said he is looking forward to representing the consumer perspective on federal policies regulating electricity, telecommunications, water and other matters.

“There are some really big policy questions happening in Washington, D.C., and we (consumers) ultimately pay the price,” he said. “I want to make sure that consumer voice is heard.”

Of particular interest are power plant emissions regulations that are driving electricity prices up in Kansas and nationwide, he said. Another issue where he wants to have influence is the ongoing question of whether legacy phone companies will have to continue to service landlines.

Springe has been with CURB 17 years, three as the agency’s economist and the past 14 as chief consumer counsel.

Springe said he won’t do as much hands-on individual advocacy or be as publicly visible at the national organization as he is at CURB, where he’s been utility customers’ lead lawyer in numerous rate cases and a leading voice for consumer protection at the Statehouse.

He said he plans to mainly coordinate with the states’ utility advocates, with them taking the lead role in representing consumer concerns to Congress and federal agencies. Springe was president of the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates from 2007 to 2009.

Attorney Niki Christopher, who’s been at CURB for 15 years, will serve as interim executive director when Springe leaves.

CURB president Brian Weber, a former state legislator from Garden City, said he doesn’t see any fundamental shifts coming in CURB’s priorities.

The board will begin the search for Springe’s replacement immediately and hopes to at least have some finalists selected when Springe officially leaves Dec. 4. Springe is paid about $93,000 a year.

Weber praised Springe as a passionate advocate for consumers and said the board will be looking for someone “with that same level of enthusiasm and energy that David brought.”

This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Kansas’ top utility consumer advocate resigns to take Washington post."