PJM named Carl F. Coscia Monday as its new vice president and chief risk officer, replacing Nigeria Bloczynski, who resigned unexpectedly in April after a dispute with stakeholders over collateral provisions.

Coscia is the former global head of risk management for the German-based energy company EnBW. Coscia managed the company’s market risk, enterprise risk, credit risk, compliance and approval for all master trading agreements, according to the announcement. He also served as the vice president of federal energy policy for Constellation Energy, a branch chief for FERC’s Office of Enforcement, and chief business officer and chief risk officer for Hartree Partners, LP.

“I look forward to managing risk for an organization that is so vital to the lives of the 65 million people it serves,” Coscia was quoted in a PJM announcement of his appointment. “Risk management becomes more important each day in this evolving, dynamic industry that produces and delivers power and administers the markets for wholesale electricity.”

His responsibilities will include coordinating risk management operations with PJM executives, including credit and enterprise risk management, market surveillance and insurance. He will also have oversight of the Risk and Audit Committee of the PJM Board of Managers and will report to CEO Manu Asthana. His new role begins on Sept. 28.

“Risk management is a critical function for PJM as an organization and for the protection of our members,” Asthana said in the announcement. “Carl brings a wealth of risk management, market and regulatory experience to PJM that will serve us and our stakeholders well.”

Coscia is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, where he received a Ph.D. in economics, and the University of Kansas, where he received a bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and economics.

Unexpected Departure

Coscia’s appointment comes five months after the resignation of Bloczynski, who departed with no warning after contentious stakeholder discussions over collateral requirements for financial transmission rights (FTR) traders. (See Bloczynski Resigns as PJM Chief Risk Officer.)

Her resignation was announced less than two weeks after stakeholders voted to urge FERC to reconsider a proposal the commission rejected in February to use a 97% confidence interval for setting the initial margin calculation for FTR trades. The commission said PJM failed to support its proposal because its independent auditors validated the model at a 99% confidence interval rather than the 97% proposed. FERC ordered a paper hearing in the case (ER22-2029, EL22-32) in August. (See FERC Orders ‘Paper’ Hearing on PJM FTR Collateral Dispute.)

CFO Lisa Drauschak assumed Bloczynski’s responsibilities after her departure.

The chief risk officer position was created in the wake of the GreenHat Energy default and a report drafted by an independent consultant hired to investigate the impact to PJM stakeholders. (See Report: ‘Naive’ PJM Underestimated GreenHat Risks.)

The efforts to rewrite PJM’s rules and regulations to limit the fallout from future market participant defaults continues Wednesday, when the Markets and Reliability Committee will consider a proposal to provide greater protections against bankruptcies by market participants. (See “Revised Bankruptcy Rules,” PJM Markets and Reliability Committee Briefs: Aug. 24, 2022.)