By Suzanne Herel
Andy Ott is officially head of PJM, after spending a six-month transition period at the side of retiring CEO Terry Boston.
Boston will serve as CEO emeritus until his retirement Dec. 31 after eight years at the helm.
The PJM Board of Managers welcomed Ott into his new position as president and CEO at its meeting last week.
“Terry Boston’s service to PJM and stakeholders has set a high standard,” board Chairman Howard Schneider said. “The board and I are confident that Andy will continue to ensure the stakeholder collaboration and outstanding performance for which PJM is known while establishing his own visionary leadership.”
Since being named Boston’s successor in April, Ott has been meeting with PJM stakeholders, including members, state and federal regulators, employees and industry leaders, the RTO said in a release. (See Incoming PJM CEO Ott Expects Challenges from an Industry in Transition.)
“The smooth and successful transition has resulted in this being the right time for Andy to take the helm,” Schneider said.
Praise for Boston
Boston was feted at the Organization of PJM States Inc. annual meeting in Baltimore last week.
“There’s a lot of things that make Terry exceptional, not the least his humility,” said FERC Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur, a luncheon speaker at the event Monday. “He has a rare combination of technical expertise — no matter what you’re talking about: everything from transformers to transmission planning to market planning — and people leadership skills.”
Boston was presented with a plaque and a standing ovation the following day. “I could not have picked a better place to end my career than PJM,” said Boston, who joined PJM from the Tennessee Valley Authority. (See Retiring PJM CEO Boston Lauded for Efficiency Improvements, Management Style.)
Ott’s Experience
Ott’s previous role was as PJM’s executive vice president of markets. An 18-year veteran with the RTO, Ott was responsible for implementing LMP, financial transmission rights, the day-ahead energy market and capacity market.
Prior to joining PJM, he worked for GPU Inc. in transmission planning and operations.
He is a board member of both PJM Technologies and PJM Environmental Information Services. He also serves on the board of directors for the Association of Power Exchanges and chairs the Study Committee on Electricity Markets and Regulation for Paris-based CIGRE (International Council on Large Electric Systems).
He received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University and his master’s in applied statistics from Villanova University. Ott is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers fellow.
– Rich Heidorn Jr. contributed to this article.