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Robert E. Spurlin (Kentucky utility regulator)

Robert E. Spurlin, a lawyer from Richmond, Kentucky, served on the Kentucky Public Service Commission from 1972 to 1976 and again from 2001 to 2004, and directed the state's workers' compensation Special Fund in the 1990s.

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Robert E. Spurlin is a Kentucky lawyer who served two separate terms on the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC), the three-member body that regulates utility rates and service in the state. His first term ran from 1972 to 1976, and he returned to the commission from 2001 to 2004.[1][2]

Background

According to the biography in the PSC's 1999–2001 biennial report, Spurlin is a native of Richmond, Kentucky. He served in the U.S. Air Force, graduated from Eastern Kentucky University and earned his law degree at the University of Kentucky College of Law.[1] He practiced law in Richmond for 23 years. During that time he was president of the Madison County Bar Association, sat in the House of Delegates of the Kentucky Bar Association, and served on the boards of the local Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club.[1] The same report says he was legal counsel and legislative assistant to Wendell H. Ford, who served Kentucky as governor and then as U.S. senator, and that he is a Fellow of the University of Kentucky and of the Kentucky Bar Association.[1]

First term and state service

During his first PSC term, from 1972 to 1976, Spurlin belonged to the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and sat on the board of the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, California.[1] He later directed the Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis Fund and the Division of Special Fund in the Kentucky Labor Cabinet.[1] In that post he was a named party in workers' compensation appeals, such as Spurlin v. Woods, which the Kentucky Supreme Court decided in 1997. The caption there calls him "Director of Special Fund, Successor to William O. Windchy."[3]

Return to the commission, 2001–2004

Governor Paul E. Patton appointed Spurlin to the PSC effective August 1, 2001.[1] In a 2005 deposition, former executive director Thomas M. Dorman recalled that Spurlin took the seat when Ed Holmes left.[4] The Kentucky Senate confirmed the appointment through Senate Resolution 130, adopted 38–0 on March 13, 2002.[5] While on the commission he served on NARUC's water committee.[1]

PSC commissioners also sat ex officio on the Kentucky State Board on Electric Generation and Transmission Siting. In December 2003 that board voted 5–1 to grant a conditional permit for Thoroughbred Generating Co.'s proposed 1,500-megawatt coal-fired plant near Central City in Muhlenberg County. Spurlin cast the only vote against it. In his dissent he warned that higher electric rates and depleted air-emission allowances would outweigh the plant's benefits: "I believe that adverse economic impacts will inevitably result from the construction of this plant."[6] In an April 2003 water-service dispute, C & L Builders v. Oldham County Water District, he wrote a concurrence praising the water district's board for protecting its source of supply.[7]

The PSC's 2003–2005 biennial report lists him, as "Robert C. Spurlin," among the commissioners who served in 2003–2004.[2] In Dorman's deposition he agreed that Spurlin had left the commission by late April 2004.[4]

See also

  • Spurlins in public service · People strong
    A roundup of people surnamed Spurlin (and, separately, Spurling) in government, politics, the military and the courts, from a 19th-century Indiana sheriff to a Kentucky utility commissioner and recent local candidates, with links to the individual articles.
  • Spurlin in American case law · History strong
    A guide to published American appellate decisions with a party named Spurlin, from an 1818 North Carolina dispute over a whiskey still to 21st-century cases on public records, county government and bankruptcy crime. Each summary is drawn from the opinion's own text.
  • Notable Spurlins · People strong
    An index of notable people surnamed Spurlin, with related Spurling-surname figures listed separately as variants.

References

  1. ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ Kentucky Public Service Commission Biennial Report, July 1, 1999 – June 30, 2001 — Commissioner biography: appointment effective Aug. 1, 2001; earlier term 1972–1976; career Government
  2. ↑ ↑ Kentucky Public Service Commission Biennial Report, July 2003 – June 2005 — Lists "Robert C. Spurlin (2003-2004)" among commissioners who served during the biennium Government
  3. ↑ Spurlin v. Woods, 954 S.W.2d 309 (Ky. 1997) — CourtListener — Caption: Robert E. Spurlin, Director of Special Fund, successor to William O. Windchy Government
  4. ↑ ↑ Appendix A to Order in Case Nos. 2003-00433/00434: deposition of Thomas M. Dorman — Kentucky Public Service Commission (filed Dec. 14, 2005) — Former executive director recalls that Spurlin was appointed when Ed Holmes left and had left by spring 2004 Government
  5. ↑ 02RS SR130: Confirm the appointment of Robert Spurlin as a commissioner to the Kentucky Public Service Commission — Kentucky General Assembly — Adopted 38–0 on March 13, 2002 Government
  6. ↑ Siting Board grants conditional permit for electric generation plant in Muhlenberg County — Kentucky State Board on Electric Generation and Transmission Siting press release (Dec. 5, 2003) — 5–1 vote; Spurlin's dissent Government
  7. ↑ C & L Builders v. Oldham County Water District, Case No. 2000-00460, Order of Apr. 23, 2003 — Kentucky Public Service Commission — Concurrence of Commissioner Robert Spurlin Government

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Last reviewed 2026-09-24.