Bonneville Power Administration acting administrator and CEO John Hairston will officially assume the top job at the federal power marketing agency, the U.S. Department of Energy said Thursday.
Hairston stepped into the role on an interim basis in September after former chief Elliot Mainzer left BPA to become CEO of CAISO. (See CAISO Names Bonneville Power Administrator as New CEO.)
Like his predecessor, Hairston rose through the ranks during a long career at BPA, most recently working as chief operating officer and chief administrative officer.
“John has made a lasting and significant impact on the Bonneville Power Administration over the past 29 years, and I am proud to announce him as the new administrator,” Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said in a statement. “BPA is an important provider of reliable, renewable hydroelectric and clean nuclear power to the Pacific Northwest, and John’s commitment to serve BPA will support the Department’s critical energy mission.”
“I am truly honored and humbled by the opportunity to lead Bonneville during this dynamic time, when we are not only challenged to meet the pressing needs of our customers but must also position BPA to be their long-term provider of choice for low-cost, reliable and responsible carbon-free power,” Hairston said.
At a November webinar hosted by the Committee for Regional Electric Power Cooperation (CREPC) on “Diverse Energy Leadership in the West,” Hairston said BPA has undertaken an “aggressive” program of cultural transformation. (See Industry Leaders Talk Diversity in the West.)
“Part of that change was my ascent into the front office, which I think allowed … for folks to kind of see someone different in the front office and see themselves and maybe aspects of their culture reflected in the leadership,” said Hairston, who is African American.
Hairston takes over at BPA as the Pacific Northwest and broader West face looming capacity shortages, a fact made evident last August when a persistent heat wave forced CAISO to initiate rolling blackouts while other balancing authorities teetered on the brink of doing the same.
A joint analysis by CAISO and California agencies placed part of the blame on a growing shortfall in resource adequacy. (See CAISO Says Constrained Tx Contributed to Blackouts.) WECC has warned the problem will only worsen as the Western Interconnection relies increasingly on variable renewable resources. (See WECC Says Extreme Events Require Forecast, RA Changes.)
“For us and our customers, resource adequacy is a pretty big deal,” Hairston said during the CREPC webinar.
He said the agency must find ways to work with its Western neighbors on RA; “for others to go through blackouts means [the region is] not cooperating.”
The Northwest Power Pool’s effort to create a formal RA program is a “really great opportunity” to collaborate with other regional utilities, he said. (See NWPP RA Effort Quickly Ramping Up.)
Hairston will also shepherd BPA through the final stages of a complex entry process into CAISO’s Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM). BPA has a go-live date targeted for March 2022, pending the outcome of an extended stakeholder proceeding.
In November, Hairston said the EIM offers resource diversity and the ability to offset risk. It also provides BPA the opportunity to utilize its extensive hydroelectric system. Regarding the expansion of the EIM into a full RTO, he said “the governance issue is a challenge for us in the Pacific Northwest.”
Hairston’s appointment received praise from key stakeholders in the region.
“We are thrilled by the naming of John Hairston, and look forward to his continued leadership at the helm of BPA,” environmental group Northwest RiverPartners tweeted.
“Looking forward to working with John on building out our region’s clean energy future,” clean energy advocate Renewable Northwest tweeted.
