The Gulf Coast Power Association (GCPA) named former interim ERCOT CEO Brad Jones as the 2023 recipient of its Pat Wood Power Star Award in recognition of his significant contributions toward the advancement of Texas’ competitive energy markets, the organization said Tuesday.
Jones has been credited with righting the ERCOT ship after the deadly February 2021 winter storm that nearly brought the Texas grid to its knees and killed more than 200 state residents during the ensuing dayslong power outages. Coming out of retirement, he led the grid operator’s implementation of several legislative changes and leaned on a package of 60 initiatives designed to improve the Texas Interconnection’s reliability and regaining the public’s trust. (See ERCOT Board Chooses Jones as Interim CEO.)
Asked by legislative leaders to come out of retirement and lead ERCOT after the storm, Jones returned to his couch last October after 18 months. He received awards from Texas’ governor, both of the state legislature’s houses and the Public Utility Commission.
“All Texans owe Brad an enormous debt of gratitude for stepping up during a time of unprecedented challenge and urgency,” PUC Chair Peter Lake said in a statement. “His steady hand and deep experience in grid operations were critical in providing the clear leadership necessary to move ERCOT forward. … Because of Brad’s selfless and tireless efforts, the Texas grid is more reliable than it’s ever been to the benefit of Texans today and for generations to come.”
Jones is “not shy about doing tough, necessary things for improvement. … His confidence in the future of the grid and of ERCOT was contagious,” said Paul Foster, chair of ERCOT’s Board of Directors. “Brad left ERCOT in much better shape, both economically and in reliability.”
The award is named after former FERC and PUC Chair Pat Wood III, the first honoree. Winners are selected by the GCPA’s board of directors; Wood will present the award to Jones during the GCPA’s annual spring conference April 18-19 in Houston.
“I have long been a Brad Jones fanboy,” Wood said. “He is genuine. He is smart. He is decisive. His passion and optimism are matched only by his competence and leadership. His parents raised him right. What a gift he has been to Texas and to our industry.”
Jones has more than 30 years of experience in the industry. He oversaw TXU’s (now Vistra) development of the 1.8-GW Oak Grove facility and represented the company on Wall Street during a volatile time in TXU’s history.
He left TXU to become ERCOT’s COO, leaving the state only to serve as NYISO’s CEO in 2015. He abruptly returned to Texas to retire in 2018. (See Brad Jones out at NYISO.)
