Speakers

Speaker Biographies 2023 Annual Meeting

Keynote Addresses

John Hairston

Administrator & CEO, Bonneville Power Administration

Portland, OR

John Hairston was named administrator and CEO in January 2021. In this role, he is responsible for managing the nonprofit federal agency that markets carbon-free power from Columbia River hydroelectric dams and the region’s one nuclear plant.

Benjamin Salisbury

Director of Research & Senior Policy Analyst, Height Capital Markets

Washington, DC

Benjamin Salisbury is Height Capital Markets’ Director of Research and Senior Policy analyst focusing on energy, transportation, and industrials in addition to key events in elections, taxation and fiscal policy.

Elliot Mainzer

President & CEO, California ISO

Folsom, CA

Elliot Mainzer is President and CEO of the California Independent System Operator (ISO) in Folsom, California.

Panel 1

Capital in the Capitol: Ratebase in the New Regulated West

Julien Dumoulin-Smith

Managing Director, Head of US Power, Utilities and Alt. Energy, Bank of America

Houston, TX

Julien Dumoulin-Smith is a managing director in Americas Equity Research covering US Power, Utilities, Clean Energy and LNG, based in Houston.

Jason Thackston

Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy and Clean Energy Officer, Avista Corp.

Spokane, WA

Jason Thackston is senior vice president and chief strategy and clean energy officer for Avista. He joined the company in 1996 and has held leadership positions in energy resources, customer solutions, energy delivery, finance, risk management, investor relations, and corporate development.

Michael Gorman

Managing Principal, Brubaker & Associates

Chesterfield, MO

Michael Gorman is a Managing Principal at BAI. He received Degrees of Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and Master of Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Moderator:

Phil Jones

Former Washington UTC Commissioner and Past President of NARUC

Seattle, WA

Philip Jones is currently President of Phil Jones Consulting LLC based in Seattle, Washington, that provides expert advice and consulting services for organizations in the fields of energy and utility regulation, communications regulation, and cybersecurity compliance and regulation.

Panel 2

Penciled Out: New Business Cases for Transmission

Neil Millar

Vice President of Transmission Planning & Infrastructure Development, California ISO

Folsom, CA

Neil Millar, Vice President of Transmission Planning & Infrastructure Development at the California Independent System Operator (ISO), leads the division responsible for its transmission planning, infrastructure contracts, operations engineering services, and generation interconnection processes.

Jeffrey Cook

VP Transmission Planning and Asset Management, Bonneville Power Administration

Portland, OR

Jeffrey Cook oversees the transmission planning and asset management program to promote the reliability, efficiency and economical use of the transmission-related physical assets.

Monica Opderbeck

Head of Origination & Power Marketing, Business Development, Pattern Energy

San Francisco, CA

Monica Opderbeck serves as the AVP of Origination and Power Marketing within Pattern’s North American Business Development group.

Moderator:

Rich Glick

Principal, GQ New Energy Strategies

Washington, DC

Rich Glick is a Principal with GQ New Energy Strategies – a consulting firm he co-founded with Pamela Quinlan. He recently completed a five-year term as a Commissioner with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) where he chaired the Commission between January 21, 2021 and January 3, 2023.

Panel 3

Speedbumps and Sinkholes: Western Market Connectivity

Pam Sporborg

Director of Transmission and Market Services, Portland General Electric

Portland, OR

Pam Sporborg is the Director of Transmission and Market Services at Portland General Electric (PGE). Ms. Sporborg oversees PGE’s advocacy work on wholesale markets, transmission and interconnection rates and policy, market analytics, and operations technical training.

Keegan Moyer

Partner, Energy Strategies

Salt Lake City, UT

Keegan Moyer is a partner at Energy Strategies, where his nearly 15 years of energy industry experience, technical leadership, and creativity coalesce to drive innovative solutions and insights for clients within the firm’s Transmission and Energy Markets practice area.

Kevin Thompson

Commissioner, Arizona Corporation Commission

Phoenix, AZ

Commissioner Kevin Thompson has more than 30 years of combined utility, regulatory, and public service experience.

Andrew McLain

Director of Transmission Market Strategy, Northwestern Energy

Butte, MT

Andrew McLain is NorthWestern Energy’s Director of Transmission Market Strategy and FERC Compliance Officer where he oversees transmission growth, analytics, markets, operations compliance, and FERC policy for NorthWestern’s transmission business.

Moderator:

Letha Tawney

Commissioner, Oregon Public Utilities Commission

Salem, OR

Letha Tawney was appointed to the Oregon Public Utility Commission by Governor Kate Brown in June 2018.

Panel 4

Hear Me Talkin’ to Ya: Innovation in Regional Governance

Sarah E. Edmonds

President & CEO, Western Power Pool

Portland, OR

Sarah E. Edmonds, President and CEO, Northwest Power Pool Corporation, doing business as the Western Power Pool (WPP).

Megan Decker

Chair, Oregon Public Utility Commission

Salem, OR

Megan Decker was appointed to the Oregon Public Utility Commission by Governor Kate Brown in April 2017 and was promoted to Commission Chair in May 2018.

Laura Trolese

Director, Western Markets, The Energy Authority

Jacksonville, FL

Laura Trolese has almost twenty years of experience in the energy industry and has spent the last decade on regional efforts to develop organized energy markets in the West.

Moderator:

Stephanie Lenhart

Assistant Research Professor, Boise State University

Boise, ID

Stephanie Lenhart is a Senior Research Associate in the Energy Policy Institute affiliated with the Center for Advanced Energy Research and an Assistant Research Professor in the School of Public Service at Boise State University.

NIPPC's 'TED Talks'

Charting a Path to a Decarbonized Grid with Form Energy

Nidhi Thakar

Vice President, Policy & Regulatory, Form Energy

Somerville, MA

Nidhi Thakar is Vice President of Policy and Regulatory at Form Energy. In this role she leads Form’s global policy and regulatory strategy to develop markets for multi-day energy storage and ensure the long term global commercial success of the company.

RJ Johnson

Senior VP, Commercial Operations, Form Energy

Somerville, MA

RJ Johnson is the Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations at Form Energy and has extensive renewable energy and storage experience in utility, commercial, and residential markets.

Speakers

Speaker Biographies 2023 Annual Meeting

Keynote Addresses

Panel 1

Capital in the Capitol: Ratebase in the New Regulated West

Moderator:

Panel 2

Penciled Out: New Business Cases for Transmission

Moderator:

Panel 3

Speedbumps and Sinkholes: Western Market Connectivity

Moderator:

Panel 4

Hear Me Talkin’ to Ya: Innovation in Regional Governance

Moderator:

NIPPC's 'TED Talks'

Charting a Path to a Decarbonized Grid with Form Energy

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