SPP CEO Barbara Sugg announced Aug. 8 that she will retire from the RTO on April 1, 2025, after 35 years of service.
Sugg was appointed to the RTO’s top position in 2020, replacing longtime CEO Nick Brown. Under her guidance, SPP has earned designations as one of the best places to work in Arkansas the past three years; expanded its service offerings and territory into the Western Interconnection with RTO West, Markets+ and other services; and garnered consistently high stakeholder satisfaction ratings.
During her tenure, the RTO has navigated historic challenges that included the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting changes to workplace norms; increasing extreme weather that has affected regional electric reliability; and the ongoing growth in demand for electricity and challenges to resource adequacy.
Sugg said in an email to RTO Insider that she has “bittersweet, mixed emotions” about her planned retirement during an “exciting and rewarding time to be part of the electric utility industry.”
“I have no doubt that SPP’s future is as bright as ever,” she said.
Golden Spread Electric Cooperative’s Mike Wise, one of SPP’s more senior and involved members, noted Sugg’s career has virtually matched his. He commended her for bringing out the best in people and encouraging them to grow.
“Barbara’s leadership and vision guided the SPP through some very difficult times,” Wise told RTO Insider, alluding to the COVID-19 pandemic that hit just after she was named CEO. “She had to create a new corporate culture around remote work and still maintain effective RTO operations. Then she was forced to navigate the highly destructive Winter Storm Uri as an RTO which faced circumstances never seen before in the region.
“She exhibited amazing strength of character and never wavered from her strong belief in the exceptionalism of her employees and the committed stakeholders in the SPP. A big three cheers for a good friend and great leader.”
Joe Lang, Omaha Public Power District’s director of generation strategy and origination and vice chair of the stakeholder-led Markets and Operations Policy Committee, wished the best for Sugg and congratulated her on a “fulfilling” career.
“Barbara has been a strong leader as SPP’s CEO through significant challenges in the electric power industry,” he said. “Barbara will be remembered for her leadership that guided SPP through the pandemic, generation interconnection backlog efforts, navigating resource adequacy constraints during extreme weather events, as well as successes expanding into the West.”
“Barbara’s dedication, passion and support of SPP’s mission and people have been evident throughout her tenure,” John Cupparo, chair of the Board of Directors, said in a news release. “Her impact as a CEO will be felt for years to come, and the board joins SPP’s stakeholders in thanking her for the high standard of leadership she’s set.”
The board plans to name a new CEO before Sugg’s departure, and it has engaged search firm Heidrick & Struggles to assess internal and external candidates as her potential replacement.
“I’m not done until I’m done. I still have much work to do,” she said, crediting SPP’s “dedicated” staff and “diverse” stakeholders. “For now, I remain energized, committed and focused on ensuring SPP’s success and partnering closely with my replacement to ensure she or he is prepared to take the reins.”
Sugg joined SPP in 1997 after eight years with Louisiana Energy and Power Authority. Because LEPA, which comprises 20 municipal power systems, was an SPP member at the time and new hires from members were able to bridge their service years, Sugg is credited with 35 years with the grid operator.
Her career has spanned every level of the RTO’s leadership, including roles as senior vice president of information technology and chief security officer.
Michael Deselle, SPP’s chief compliance and administrative officer, also has announced his retirement, effective at year-end. He joined the RTO in 2006 after 14 years at Central and South West and American Electric Power.
