Karen Douglas was originally appointed to the California Energy Commission by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in February 2008 and was re-appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in December 2012 and February 2018. She fills the Attorney position on the five-member Commission where four of the five members by law are required to have professional training in specific areas - engineering or physical science, environmental protection, economics, and law.
Commissioner Douglas is currently the lead commissioner on power plant siting and environmental protection, tribal affairs, compliance and enforcement, the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, and the state’s lead on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management-California Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force. Commissioner Douglas has served as presiding or associate member on over 40 power plant siting cases, including all pending cases.
Commissioner Douglas previously served as Chair of the California Energy Commission from February 2009 to February 2011, and was a member of the Renewables, Energy Efficiency, Siting and Environmental Protection, Integrated Energy Policy Report, Energy Research and Demonstration, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and Transportation Committees.In her time on these committees, she oversaw the timely allocation of 314.5 million dollars of federal stimulus funds into energy-efficiency, renewable energy, and energy-related programs that benefitted California homeowners, businesses, and government entities; development and implementation of tribal consultation regulations and siting and compliance regulations; and adoption of the 2012 building efficiency standards and California’s first-in-the-nation efficiency standards for televisions and battery chargers.
From 2005 to 2008, Ms. Douglas served as Director of the California Climate Initiative at the Environmental Defense Fund. Prior to going to the Environmental Defense Fund, Ms. Douglas spent four years at the Planning and Conservation League as the Natural Resources Director, General Counsel, and later, acting Executive Director. She has worked on California natural resource and environmental protection issues, including the Imperial Irrigation District / San Diego water transfer, forest policy, and the California Environmental Quality Act. Commissioner Douglas is a 2001 graduate of the Stanford Law School and holds a Master's Degree in public policy from the University of Colorado, Boulder.