Commissioners
Jon S. Itomura, Chair
Jon S. Itomura was appointed to the Public Utilities Commission by Governor Josh Green on an interim basis beginning January 14, 2026 and ending June 30, 2032. His appointment is subject to State Senate confirmation by the end of the 2026 Legislative Session.
Prior to his appointment to the PUC, Chair Itomura served as Executive Director of the Hawaii United Okinawa Association and as a Commissioner on the Campaign Spending Commission. He returns to state service with more than 25 years of experience in government, beginning with the Senate Ways and Means Committee and the Circuit Court, and later as a Deputy Attorney General. From 1999 to 2003, he served as General Counsel for the Campaign Spending Commission, and subsequently as Supervising Attorney for the Division of Consumer Advocacy for sixteen years before retiring from state service.
Chair Itomura earned his juris doctorate from the Seattle University School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts in environmental, pollution, and organismic biology from the University of Colorado. Chair Itomura is a graduate of St. Louis High School.
Naomi U. Kuwaye, Commissioner
Naomi U. Kuwaye was appointed to the Public Utilities Commission by Governor David Y. Ige and confirmed by the State Senate beginning July 1, 2022 and ending June 30, 2028.
Prior to her appointment to the PUC, Commissioner Kuwaye was an attorney at Ashford & Wriston, LLP where she had practiced since 2012. Previously, Commissioner Kuwaye had also worked for then Honolulu City Councilmember Donna Mercado Kim and practiced law in Oregon and Washington before returning home to Hawaii.
Commissioner Kuwaye earned her juris doctorate and a certificate in environmental and natural resources law from Lewis and Clark Northwestern School of Law and her bachelor of arts in journalism and political science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Colin A. Yost, Commissioner
Colin A. Yost was first appointed to the Public Utilities Commission on November 1, 2022 by Governor David Y. Ige. Governor Josh Green subsequently re-nominated Commissioner Yost and the State Senate confirmed him for a term ending June 30, 2030.
Prior to his appointment to the PUC, Commissioner Yost partly-owned the Oahu-based renewable energy company RevoluSun, where he served for eight years as Chief Operating Officer and for four years as General Counsel. At RevoluSun, he managed general company activity, directed the commercial projects division and oversaw human resources, legal and regulatory matters. As General Counsel, he helped steer RevoluSun through a rapidly changing policy landscape to become one of the leading residential photovoltaic installers in the nation.
In his legal career before RevoluSun, Commissioner Yost founded the law firm of Cruise & Yost and he also worked as an attorney for the Honolulu firm of Paul Johnson Park & Niles. In these positions, he represented clients in the areas of energy and environmental law, civil litigation, business law, consumer law, civil rights, Native Hawaiian rights, real estate matters and administrative proceedings before the PUC and other administrative agencies.
From 1998-2003, Commissioner Yost served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Financial Fraud/Consumer Protection Section of the Oregon Department of Justice, where he led the State of Oregon’s investigation and prosecution of western energy companies, including Enron, Duke Energy and the Williams Energy Companies for matters relating to the west coast electricity crisis of 2000-2001 and secured settlement agreements worth $32 million to the State of Oregon. He also led and resolved the state’s investigation of telecommunications company MCI. In 2001, Commissioner Yost received the Oregon Department of Justice’s Outstanding Service Award.
Commissioner Yost earned his juris doctorate from Lewis and Clark Northwestern School of Law and his bachelor of arts in English and Environmental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.
Updated 2/2026
