JEFFERSON CITY – Gov. Jay Nixon today named Dustin Allison as the acting Public Counsel for the Office of the Public Counsel, the agency that represents the public and the interests of utility customers before the Missouri Public Service Commission. The position became vacant earlier this month when the Governor named former Public Counsel Lewis R. Mills as the new director of the Division of Energy.
“The Office of the Public Counsel has had a tradition of strong advocates for the public interest, including Lewis Mills, John Coffman and Martha Hagerty,”Gov. Nixon said. “I know from the work he has done in a variety of areas for the state of Missouri that Dustin will maintain that tradition as acting Public Counsel.”
Allison, an attorney, is currently counsel with the Department of Economic Development. His duties with the administration have included responsibilities for federal and military affairs, and representation to the National Governors Association and other multi-state organizations based in Washington, DC. Allison became part of the Governor’s administration in January 2009 after serving for more than five years as an assistant attorney general. At the Attorney General’s Office, he practiced within the Litigation Division and represented the state in federal and state courts. A native of St. Charles County, he obtained his undergraduate degree from Saint Louis University and his law degree from George Washington University Law School.
The Office of the Public Counsel is independent from the PSC and has a separate budget and staff. Attorneys with the OPC, including the Public Counsel, provide legal representation to the public and ratepayers as a class, rather than specific legal representation of individuals.
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