SURFA is completing its 49th year as an association promoting educational advancement and professional integrity for financial experts. SURFA members work for consumer advocates, utilities and government agencies and provide perspective on utility financial issues to assist utility regulators who are responsible for setting prices for utility customers.
The appointment recognizes Kihm’s and CUB’s work in Wisconsin on behalf of utility customers, as well as our guidance to professionals across the country who are striving every day to make utility service more affordable.
SURFA also elected another consumer advocate, David Murray of the Missouri Office of Public Counsel, to its board.
“I am honored to be asked by SURFA to represent consumer interests on the board,” said Kihm. “The leadership recognized that even though the United States Supreme Court requires that regulators balance investor and consumer interests when setting rates of return, there was a little if any direct consumer representation on the board. At a time when affordability concerns are at a high level, Dave and I are now both positioned to represent consumers in that organization. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Earlier this year, Kihm was quoted in “Power Brokers,” a national article in Harper’s magazine that examined in-depth the whys and wherefores of rising utility bills across the country, and the role utility finance has played in those surges.
“The SURFA election is a big deal, both for Steve and for CUB,” said Tom Content, CUB Executive Director. “SURFA is fortunate to have Steve available to lend his talents. It’s the latest example of national validation for the expertise and knowledge he has brought to CUB and other consumer advocate offices.”
Kihm has been working on utility finance issues for more than 40 years. He joined CUB in 2021 after decades at the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin and Madison-based Slipstream.
He also serves on the macroeconomic forecasting panel for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. He holds a Doctor of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
Kihm is the author or co-author of numerous articles through his collaborations with the Regulatory Assistance Project, RMI and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Working with Jan Beecher, now a commissioner at the Connecticut Public Utility Regulation Authority, Kihm co-wrote the 2016 book “Risk Principles for Public Utility Regulators” (Michigan State University Press).
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