PALO ALTO, Calif., April 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) announced the election of a new chair, first and second vice chairs, and seven members to the board of directors, as well as the appointment of two interim directors and one external director, effective today.

Dr. Pedro J. Pizarro, who has served on the EPRI Board of Directors since 2016, becomes Chair of the Board. Pizarro is President and Chief Executive Officer of Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison (SCE).

Pizarro served as President of SCE from October 2014 through May 2016, when he was elected President of Edison International (EIX). He was elected CEO in October 2016. Pizarro has held a wide range of executive positions at the EIX companies since 1999, including serving as President of Edison Mission Energy and chairing its board of directors. In addition to his work with EPRI, Pizarro serves on the U.S. Secretary of Energy Advisory Board and the boards of Argonne National Laboratory, the Edison Electric Institute, and Caltech. He has also served on the boards of Electric Power Supply Association, California Power Exchange, Colburn School, House Research Institute, Southern California Leadership Council, and Western Energy Institute.

Stanley W. (Stan) Connally, Jr., Executive Vice President of Operations at Southern Company, becomes First Vice Chair. Connally oversees Southern Company's systemwide operations. This includes generation, transmission, engineering and construction services, commercial operations, environmental and system planning, and supply chain management. He is also responsible for Southern Wholesale Energy and the Southern Linc and Southern Telecom telecommunications businesses. He is a member of Capital City Bank Group's board. He has served on the EPRI Board of Directors since 2017.

Duke Energy executive Doug Esamann was named Second Vice Chair. As Duke Energy's Executive Vice President – Energy Solutions, he oversees corporate and regulatory strategy, emerging technology, and regulated and commercial renewable energy operations. He is also President of Duke Energy's Midwest and Florida regions with responsibility for the strategic direction and performance of the company's regulated electric utilities in Florida, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Esamann also serves as President of Duke Energy's natural gas business unit overseeing all of the company's regulated gas operations in the Carolinas, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. He has served on the EPRI Board of Directors since 2015.

Elected to four-year terms were Lisa M. Barton, Executive Vice President – Utilities of American Electric Power; Brett C. Carter, Executive Vice President and Chief Customer and Innovation Officer of Xcel Energy; Kevin Fletcher, President and Chief Executive Officer of WEC Energy Group; Pat O'Doherty, CEO of Electricity Supply Board, Ireland (ESB); Maria Pope, President and CEO of Portland General Electric (PGE); Michael W. Rencheck, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bruce Power; and Vincent Sorgi, President and Chief Operating Officer of PPL Corporation.

Pat O'Loughlin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Buckeye Power and Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives and John R. Bear, Chief Executive Officer, Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO) were appointed by the board to serve as interim directors. Bear's appointment is effective immediately. O'Loughlin's appointment is effective in July following the expected retirement of another director.

Marie-José Nadeau, C.M., Ad.E. of the World Energy Council was appointed by the Board of Directors as an External Director for a four-year term.

EPRI Board Members
Barton is Executive Vice President – Utilities responsible for AEP's seven utility operating companies and the continued growth of AEP's regulated utility operations. Previously she served as Executive Vice President – AEP Transmission. Barton serves on the boards of Commercial Metals Company and ReliabilityFirst. Previously she worked for Northeast Utilities and Strategic Energy LLC. Barton served as a board member of Electric Transmission Texas, a joint venture with Berkshire Hathaway and Transource Energy, a competitive transmission development joint venture with Great Plains Energy.

Carter is Executive Vice President and Chief Customer and Innovation Officer, overseeing marketing, customer service, information technology, cyber and physical security, and brand strategy for Xcel Energy. Previously he held senior leadership roles with Bank of America in operations, technology, and shared services. He has held leadership roles at major utilities, including Duke Energy, UtiliCorp/Aquila, and Dominion.

Fletcher serves as Chief Executive Officer – WEC Energy Group and was appointed to the Office of the Chair and board of directors in 2019. Fletcher previously served as President – We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service. Prior to We Energies, he was Vice President – Community and Economic Development at Georgia Power. Fletcher serves on the Board of Directors of the American Transmission Company and the Edison Electric Institute.

O'Doherty was appointed Chief Executive of ESB in 2011 and appointed to the ESB Board in 2013. Previously, he led each of ESB's main businesses as Executive Director ESB International, Managing Director ESB Networks Ltd. and Executive Director ESB Power Generation. O'Doherty is Chairman of the Apprenticeship Council of Ireland, Vice President of Eurelectric, and is a Director of Energy UK.

Pope is President and CEO of PGE, Oregon's largest electric company. Pope joined PGE in 2009 as CFO and Treasurer. She also oversaw the company's power generation facilities, wholesale power marketing and long‐term resource strategy as Senior Vice President of Power Supply, Operations, and Resource Strategy. From 2006 to 2008, she was a member of PGE's board of directors.

Rencheck is President and Chief Executive Officer of Bruce Power which provides 30 percent of the electricity for Ontario, Canada, from eight nuclear reactors, and which produces medical isotopes used to sterilize 40 percent of the world's "once use" medical devices and treat cancer. Prior to joining Bruce Power in 2016, he served as Deputy Chief Operating Officer for AREVA Group. He served on the Board of Directors of ADWEN, an offshore wind company and the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority. Rencheck serves on the advisory councils of several small modular reactor companies.

Sorgi is President and Chief Operating Officer of PPL Corporation, where he leads execution of PPL's long‐term growth strategy and is responsible for the performance of PPL's seven utilities in the United States and the United Kingdom. Sorgi will become PPL Corporation's Chief Executive Officer on June 1, 2020. Previously he served as Executive Vice President and CFO, overseeing PPL's investor relations, treasury, financial planning and analysis, tax, risk management, controllership, and strategic development.

Interim Directors
Bear joined MISO in 2004 and has served as the Chief Executive Officer since 2009. He was President and Chief Operating Officer from 2004-2009. Prior to MISO, he served as President of Houston-based Reliant Resources, and as Managing Director of Reliant's European Operations. He is currently an Advisory Board Member of the Energy Systems Network. He previously served on the Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee of the U.S. Department of Energy and as a board member of ReliabilityFirst.

O'Loughlin began working at Buckeye Power in 2002 and has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Buckeye Power and Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives since 2015. Prior to that, he worked for Dayton Power & Light for approximately 19 years in various management positions with responsibility for the wholesale power business, and power and natural gas system operations.

External Director
Nadeau is Honorary Chair of the World Energy Council, which she chaired from 2013 to 2016. She served as Secretary General and Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs at Hydro-Québec (Canada) for 22 years, until 2015. Nadeau serves on the boards of ENGIE, a multinational French company active in the energy sector and Trans Mountain Corporation, a Canadian pipeline company. She served as Chair of EPRI's Advisory Council at the time of her appointment to the EPRI Board.

"EPRI derives great value from the broad and diverse perspectives these individuals bring to our board of directors," said EPRI CEO Michael W. Howard. "Their insights and guidance enable us to address the dynamic challenges and opportunities society faces in electricity production, delivery and use."

About EPRI:
The Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. (EPRI, www.epri.com) conducts research and development relating to the generation, delivery and use of electricity for the benefit of the public. An independent, nonprofit organization, EPRI brings together its scientists and engineers as well as experts from academia and industry to help address challenges in electricity, including reliability, efficiency, health, safety and the environment. EPRI's members represent more than 90 percent of the electricity generated and delivered in the United States, and international participation extends to 40 countries. EPRI's principal offices and laboratories are in Palo Alto, Calif.; Charlotte, N.C.; Knoxville, Tenn.; and Lenox, Mass.

Donald Cutler
EPRI
[email protected]
650.847.8077

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SOURCE Electric Power Research Institute