Bob Rowe lauded as he leaves post as Chairman of the Montana PSC

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said: "I’ve never met anybody working in our state who had so much the consumers’ best interests at heart, both in energy and especially telecommunications. He is so respected nationally. He was both brilliant and savvy fundamentally because he knew the subject so well, and he was fighting for consumers."

Accolades are pouring in for Montana Public Service Commission Chairman Bob Rowe, who concludes his 12-year career as a state utility regulator on Monday.

Rowe, a Missoula lawyer and Democrat who represented western and northwestern Montana on the PSC, earned a national reputation, particularly for his work on telecommunications issues. He was president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners in 1999-2000 and headed its Telecommunications Committee from 1997 to 1999.

Barred by term limits from seeking re-election, Rowe has formed a transcontinental telecommunications consulting firm with Baltimore-based Mike Balhoff, who was head of telecommunications investor research at an investment bank for 16 years.

For more information about Bob’s new venture: http://www.matr.net/article-13028.html

Balhoff & Rowe, LLC (Site coming soon) http://balhoffrowe.com/

By CHARLES S. JOHNSON Missoulian State Bureau

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/articles/2005/01/01/news/local/news05.txt