National Council on Electricity Policy installs new president, executive committee members

The National Council on Electricity Policy (NCEP) installed Idaho Public Utilities Commission Chairman Paul Kjellander as NCEP during the group’s annual meeting in Denver earlier this month.

Alex Whitaker, policy advisor for natural resources in the Office of the Governor of Colorado, and ToNola Brown-Bland of the North Carolina Utilities Commission were also installed as members of the NCEP Executive Committee during the annual meeting.

“I am delighted to welcome Chairman Kjellander, Commissioner Brown-Bland and Alex Whitaker to NCEP’s Executive Committee,” NCEP Director Jan Brinch said. “They bring invaluable knowledge and expertise that will help NCEP design programs and write policy documents that benefit all state-level decision-makers involved in the complexities of electricity policy. I also want to recognize and thank Immediate Past President Elizabeth ‘Lib’ Fleming, of the South Carolina Public Service Commission, and immediate past Southeast Regional Representative and Liaison to the Eastern Interconnection States’ Planning Council, Chairman Ed Finley, of the North Carolina Utility Commission, for their exemplary service to NCEP.”

More than 70 state-level electricity policy decision makers discussed interactions between transmission and distribution grids as electric customers increasingly rely on distributed energy resources during the annual meeting. Representatives were on hand from state public utility commissions, environmental agencies, state energy officers, gubernatorial offices and consumer advocate offices.

“The work of NCEP adds value to the national discussion on electric policy, and I look forward to helping the organization fulfill its role as an honest broker in this dialogue,” Kjellander said.

In 2018, NCEP has focused on transmission and distribution system planning, evolving operations and market developments that include non-wire solutions, developing customer needs, and improving the resiliency and reliability of all grid systems.