Paul Kjellander, Administrator
Paul Kjellander was appointed by Idaho Governor C. L. “Butch” Otter in October 2007 to serve as the first administrator for the Office of Energy Resources.
Kjellander previously served as a Commissioner on the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. He was appointed by Gov. Dirk Kempthorne in January 1999 and again in 2005. Kjellander served as President and CEO of the commission for 6 years.
Kjellander, a Republican, was elected to three terms in the Idaho House of Representatives, where he served since 1994 as a member of the House State Affairs, Judiciary and Rules, Ways and Means, Local Government and Transportation committees. During his last term in office, Commissioner Kjellander was elected House Majority Caucus Chairman. His legislative service includes membership on the Legislature’s Information Technology Advisory Council and the House/Senate Joint Committee on Technology. He also served as co-chairman of the Legislative Task Force on the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 and vice chairman of the Council of State Governments-West “Smart States Committee.” His interim legislative committee assignments included the Optional Forms of County Government Committee, Capital Crimes Committee and the Private Property Rights Committee.
Kjellander has also served as director of Boise State University’s College of Applied Technology Distance Learning, program head of broadcast technology, station manager of BSU Radio Network, director of the Special Projects Unit for BSU Radio, executive producer/newscaster for BSU Radio and director of News and Public Affairs. His undergraduate degrees from Muskingum College, Ohio, were in communications, psychology and art. He holds a master’s degree in telecommunications from Ohio University.
As a member of the National Association of Regulatory Commissioners, Kjellander served on the Telecommunications and Consumer Affairs Committees. He was also appointed by the Federal Communication Commission to the Federal/State Board of Jurisdictional Separations and served as chairman.