The Regional Organization of Western Energy has selected Western Freedom Executive Director Kathleen Staks as its interim president, while regulatory attorney Lisa Tormoen Hickey will assume the role of interim secretary.

The two were elected to their positions by a vote of the ROWE’s newly installed Formation Board during its inaugural virtual meeting Feb. 12.

The ROWE is the product of the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative’s multiyear effort to develop an independent governance structure for CAISO’s Western Energy Imbalance Market and Extended Day-Ahead Market.

Staks and Tormoen Hickey sit on the five-member Formation Board. The body also includes Evelyn Kahl, chief policy officer at CalCCA; Jim Shetler, general manager of Balancing Authority of Northern California; and Scott Ranzal, director of energy policy and procurement at Pacific Gas and Electric. Staks also is co-chair of the Pathways Launch Committee, which developed the foundations of the ROWE. (See Pathways Takes Key Step Toward Establishing ROWE.)

According to the ROWE’s by-laws, as president Staks will technically take on the role of CEO, but both she and Tormoen Hickey have waived compensation for the interim positions. The ROWE will permanently fill executive positions after a search conducted by the organization’s initial board of directors.

During the meeting, Staks and Kahl emphasized the limited authority of the Formation Board and spelled out its objectives.

“This is an interim body … that was necessary for the initial formation of the ROWE and is tasked with conducting the work that’s necessary to keep the ROWE implementation moving forward, including — most importantly — seating our initial independent board [of directors],” Staks said.

Staks said other tasks for the Formation Board include securing funding for the ROWE until its tariff funding is in place, developing recommendations for the initial board that includes the ROWE’s statutory requirements, and “continuing progress on work streams previously identified.”

Those tasks could entail entering contracts with vendors — such as lawyers and facilitators — and securing a financing agreement with a bank, actions that first would go to the Pathways Launch Committee for discussion, she said.

The ROWE seeks $7 million to $8 million to cover startup costs for operations in 2026/27 and has entered funding discussions with CAISO, which earlier in February issued a straw proposal that would provide the ROWE with backing for a commercial line of credit through surcharges on market transactions. (See Pathways Asks CAISO to Kickstart ROWE Funding Discussions.)

Staks clarified that all actions and decisions by the Formation Board will take place in open meetings with opportunities for public comment.

“So, if and when we get to these decision points, we will do them in an open meeting, as we have done at the Launch Committee along the way to date,” she said. “Ultimately, once the initial board is seated, that group will determine the role of the Launch Committee and figure out exactly what it needs from that group of supporters.”

At the meeting, the Formation Board voted unanimously to approve two resolutions adopting internal rules and the board selection policy for the ROWE.