"From my perspective, it has been refreshing to have someone come in with her experience," Hammon said. "That experience is so important. The issues we deal with are controversial, and people are always going to react."

Hammon believes Beck can bring stability and continuity to the committee; something, he said, which has been missing in recent years.

"With Roger you had controversy. With Leslie, controversy," Hammon said. "It's hard to keep the team all together when you have that kind of instability in the system. You're spending a lot of your time and energy and resources doing things that are not directly related to the task."

Looking forward, Beck said she will focus her efforts on consumer education. She also believes more scrutiny is warranted over Rocky Mountain Power's long-term planning of future power plants, which she believes is the top issue facing Utah. The state has the highest electric demand and growth among the six states served by PacifiCorp, the parent company of Rocky Mountain Power.

"There are many cases where we are analyzing the issues and fighting for consumers," Beck said. "I want consumers to be able to rest assured that we are out there representing them well."

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E-mail: danderton@desnews.com