DETROIT — MISO is poised to retain two of its term-limited board members in 2026 while adding an executive from a federal power marketing agency.
MISO announced its slate of candidates for three available board seats: board incumbents Todd Raba and Barbara Krumsiek; and Joel Cook, Bonneville Power Administration’s former chief operating officer and senior vice president of transmission services.
Cook left Bonneville in February when he took up the federal Office of Personnel Management’s buyout offer.
Longtime board members Raba, Krumsiek and H.B. “Trip” Doggett are wrapping their third and final three-year terms at the end of 2025. Though they’re term-limited, all expressed interest in serving a maximum fourth term that is allowable through a special waiver of MISO’s rules. (See MISO Could Replace Up to 3 Board Members by Year End.)
Director Jeff Lemmer said MISO decided to use a waiver of normal board rules only after it weighed the need for fresh faces on the board while recognizing “the value of continuity,” as MISO has “several major initiatives in flight.”
Board Chair Raba thanked Doggett, the board’s only departing member, for his nine-year service to the MISO board.
Illinois Commerce Commissioner Michael Carrigan, who served as one of the two stakeholders on MISO’s Nominating Committee this year, said the committee had to consider that effectively, one-third of the independent board could have turned over. MISO’s board is composed of nine independent directors, along with MISO CEO John Bear.
The Nominating Committee ultimately interviewed seven external candidates in addition to the existing three board members and made recommendations to MISO.
The Nominating Committee is charged with vetting and advancing potential board members, who are put to a vote of membership. The committee’s members change annually, and they are composed of three MISO board members and two MISO stakeholders, one of whom typically is from a state public service commission. This year, directors Lemmer, Bob Lurie and Nancy Lange sat on the Nominating Committee alongside Carrigan and ITC’s Brian Drumm.
MISO membership will vote in late September through the end of October on the candidates. In MISO, members vote electronically on whether they support a potential board member. MISO’s board elections require candidates to earn a majority of votes in support among membership. MISO members can vote for, against or abstain from selecting any of the candidates. Candidates typically earn enough favorable votes to be installed.
To establish a quorum, 25% of MISO membership (39 members this year) must vote.
MISO will announce election results sometime in November.
