EEI elects Xcel’s Ben Fowke as board chair
The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) elected Ben Fowke, chairman and CEO of Xcel Energy, as the new chair of the board.
EEI, the national association of investor-owned electric companies, also elected Gerard Anderson, executive chairman of DTE Energy; Warner Baxter, chairman, president, and CEO of Ameren Corporation; and Pedro Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, as board vice chairs.
Fowke succeeds Christopher Crane, president and CEO of Exelon Corp., as chair.
“On behalf of the entire EEI team, I extend our thanks to Chris Crane for his dedication and leadership as EEI chairman,” EEI President Tom Kuhn said. “Chris’ focus on resilience, which we define as the ability to prepare, adapt, withstand, and rapidly recover from difficult and changing conditions, helped our industry respond quickly and effectively when the COVID-19 pandemic threat emerged and will help EEI’s members to be better prepared for all threats to operations. He also set us on a path to continue deepening our industry’s workforce development activities. Throughout this pandemic, we have seen just how critical our workforce is to ensuring that our country can power through this crisis.”
The elections were made at EEI’s virtual annual meeting, held earlier this month. Fowke, who had been a vice chair, will be chair for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
“Now more than ever, our customers and our communities are dependent on the reliable and affordable energy that America’s electric companies provide, and our industry will play a critical role in the nation’s recovery from the pandemic. This industry must also play a role in finding solutions for racial inequity with ongoing dialogue on how we can make a difference,” Fowke said. “Despite all the uncertainties right now, our commitment to clean energy remains clear. EEI’s member companies collectively have reduced their carbon dioxide emissions 45 percent below peak 2005 levels, and we are on a path to reduce carbon emissions at least 50 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050. Research and development of clean energy technology will be critical to helping us achieve our goals, and investments in new technologies will create future innovations to accelerate the clean energy transition.”
Fowke is the current chairman and CEO of Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy. Fowke also serves on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC), representing the energy industry. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of the Nuclear Energy Institute, Energy Insurance Mutual, Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, and Securian Financial Group.
