Who sits on the panel?

Dennis Browne, KC, Consumer Advocate, Chair

Dennis Browne is a lawyer with a practice in administrative law and a graduate of Dalhousie Law School. He serves as the province’s Consumer Advocate on electricity issues and is a labour arbitrator and mediator. He has been Chair of the province’s Labour Relations Board. In 2008 he was retained to report to a New Brunswick Legislative Committee on amendments to that province’s Industrial Relations Act. In 2018 he was Chair of a Ministerial Task Force of the New Brunswick Government reviewing WorkSafeNB. From 2010 to 2014 he was a member of the 2041 Group who advocated against the Muskrat Falls Project. In 2019 the Consumer Advocate represented ratepayers before the Commission of Inquiry respecting the Muskrat Falls Project.

C. Douglas Bowman, BS, MS

Doug Bowman holds BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Buffalo and has over 40 years of experience in the power industry. He specializes in electricity services costing, pricing, contracts, power sector restructuring and markets, and has consulted on projects in over 50 countries and regions including Canada, United States, Mexico, Australia, Central America, the Arab countries, South Asia, Egypt, Mongolia, Serbia, and the Republic of Georgia. For the past 28 years, he has advised the Consumer Advocate in Newfoundland and Labrador on general rate applications, planning, capital budgets and related issues.

Guy Holburn, Ph.D

Guy Holburn is a Professor of Business, Economics, and Public Policy at the Ivey Business School, University of Western Ontario. His expertise includes corporate governance, regulation, and business strategy, particularly in the energy and utilities sectors. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and authored numerous reports on energy policies. Dr. Holburn founded and directed the Ivey Energy Policy and Management Centre, and serves as a director of London Hydro, a board member of the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability, and a member of the Council for Clean and Reliable Energy. He has consulted for corporations and governments in Canada and the U.S., providing advice on governance, regulation, competition policy, merger strategy, economic impact, and more. Dr. Holburn holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.A. Hons. from Cambridge University. He previously worked as a management consultant for Bain and Company and the California Public Utilities Commission.

Counsel

R. Barry Learmonth, K.C.

Mr. Learmonth has practiced law in St. John’s since 1977. He served as Co-Counsel of the Muskrat Falls Inquiry from 2017-2020.
The primary focus of his legal practice is in the area of civil litigation, including construction law.