Former Seattle City Light CEO Debra Smith has been nominated to join the Western Energy Markets (WEM) Governing Body, with a three-year term to begin July 1. 

Established in 2016, the WEM Governing Body is the oversight board for CAISO’s Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM) and Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM), the latter of which is scheduled to launch in 2026 with PacifiCorp and Portland General Electric as its first members.  

The Governing Body in 2024 was authorized to begin assuming greater authority over decisions related to the two markets as part of the “Step 1” proposal by the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative, a multistate effort to bring more independent governance to the ISO’s markets in the face of competition from SPP’s Markets+ offering. (See CAISO, WEM Boards Approve Pathways ‘Step 1’ Tariff Amendments.)  

“Ms. Smith has demonstrated wide-ranging expertise and experience that will help guide the ISO as it navigates issues relating to market rules of the Western Energy Imbalance Market and Extended Day-Ahead Market, and an increasingly changing energy and electricity market landscape,” Northern California Power Agency General Manager Randy Howard, chair of the WEM Nominating Committee, wrote in a June 11 memo to Governing Body members, who will vote on Smith’s nomination at their June 18 general session in Reno, Nev. 

Smith was City Light’s CEO for five years before retiring in 2023, “leading the utility through a significant modernization program,” according to the memo. Former Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan appointed Smith to lead the utility after it became mired in a host of organizational problems, including widespread claims of sexual harassment and cost overruns for a new billing system. 

Smith began her career in the utility sector in 1996 with the Eugene Water and Electric Board in Oregon, where she rose to the position of assistant general manager. She then was chosen to head up Central Lincoln Public Utility District in Newport, Ore. 

“Ms. Smith is a respected voice in both regional and national energy affairs,” Howard wrote in the memo. “She is well networked throughout the West with a deep understanding of energy markets in the region along with well established relationships and the willingness to engage proactively with current and potential WEM market participants.” 

Smith would assume the seat being vacated by John Prescott, the last remaining member of the original Governing Body appointed in 2016. Prescott is stepping down after reaching the body’s limit of serving three full terms. 

Campbell up for Reappointment

The WEM Nominating Committee also has recommended the reappointment of Member Andrew Campbell to another three-year term. 

Campbell first was appointed to the Governing Body in 2022 and served as its chair from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024. 

“Member Campbell works diligently to prepare for decisions and to understand ISO staff analysis and stakeholder perspectives on complex market issues that come before the Governing Body,” the memo said. “He has worked to maintain existing relationships and to build new relationships with stakeholders across the market footprint.” 

Campbell is executive director of the University of California, Berkeley’s Energy Institute at Haas.