The SPP Regional Entity trustees elected Dave Christiano as their new chairman during a special board meeting last week, replacing the resigned John Meyer.
Meyer announced his resignation the week before, during the SPP RE’s spring workshop in Little Rock, Ark. Because there are only three RE trustees, Christiano and Gerry Burrows moved quickly to “expedite” Meyer’s replacement, they said in an email to members.
During the March 22 call, Burrows nominated Christiano for chairman, then joined him in a 2-0 vote.
Christiano told members the RE doesn’t expect to fill Meyer’s vacancy until July at the earliest. The Russell Reynolds Associates executive search firm has been contracted to help.
“Gerry and I decided we couldn’t go four months without a chairman,” Christiano said.
Alluding to Meyer’s nine years as chair of the RE trustees, Christiano told members they will see little change.
“I will pledge, and I’m sure Gerry will pledge too, that we’re not going to change any directions,” said Christiano, who has been a trustee alongside Meyer since the RE’s inception in 2007.
The RE trustees operate separately from SPP’s Board of Directors, providing oversight of RE decisions on regional standards, compliance enforcement and penalties. Only the trustees and certain RE staff members have the authority to make compliance and enforcement decisions.
An electrical engineering graduate from Clarkson College in New York, Christiano began his industry career with Consolidated Edison in New York City in 1971 and took part in an analysis of the 1977 blackout. He spent 28 years with City Utilities of Springfield in Missouri before becoming an RE trustee. Christiano has served on numerous SPP and NERC boards and committees.
Meyer resigned from the RE because of a conflict with the bylaws of Western Interconnection reliability coordinator Peak Reliability, where he is vice chair. The Western Area Power Administration, which joined SPP last year, is partly in the Western Interconnection, requiring SPP to register with the Western Electricity Coordinating Council as a planning authority and transmission-service provider.
To ensure independence, Peak’s bylaws prohibit its board members from serving on other boards in the WECC.
Christiano said Meyer chose to stay with Peak, where he only has two years of service. “He felt he had a lot more to offer there,” Christiano told RTO Insider.
SPP Sets New Wind Peak Record
The RTO set a new wind peak at 6 a.m. March 21, relying on about 87% of the wind capacity in its footprint to generate 10,783 MW. The previous record of 10,280 MW was set Feb. 17.
The RTO has 12,397 MW of installed and available wind capacity in its footprint, with another 33,819 MW of capacity in various stages of development.
Brown Honored with International Award
SPP CEO Nick Brown will be honored by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s (UALR) College of Business for his recent Business Achievement Award from the Beta Gamma Sigma.
The society annually recognizes achievement in business and ethical leadership. The UALR College of Business nominated Brown for the award and will hold an invitation-only reception in his honor in Little Rock. Brown said he was “humbled” by the award and thanked SPPs employees, “who are the foundation of our corporate success.”
Beta Gamma Sigma is an international honor society serving business programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
– Tom Kleckner
