Arkansan Honored as Woman in Power

Colette Honorable

Colette Honorable, the former Arkansas Public Service Commission chairman who later served on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, has been profiled by the Utility Dive website as one of four “Women in Power” across the United States.

Honorable, a lawyer and Little Rock Central High School graduate, was the first black woman to lead the state PSC, which she joined in 2007 and chaired from 2011-2015.

President Barack Obama appointed her to the FERC in late 2014, and she served on the panel until her term expired in June. She’s now a partner at Reed Smith LLP, where she works on the firm’s Natural Resources Group in its Washington, D.C., office.

Utility Dive noted that Honorable has been a longtime advocate for more diversity in the energy industry.

“It was an … older white men’s industry quite frankly, and I had to get past that,” she told the publication. “I think we are in the middle of a movement and we’re right now in a period of enlightenment that would not have happened this way 10 years ago. We really need to take advantage of this time to raise the consciousness of our colleagues.”

The other Women in Power were Pat Vincent-Collawn, CEO of PNM Resources, an energy holding company in New Mexico; Barbara Lockwood, VP of regulation at the Arizona Public Service Co.; and Suzy Macke, a lineman at Duke Energy.