EPB promotes Ryan Keel to head of technical operations

EPB has promoted Ryan Keel to senior vice president of technical operations with responsibility for all business systems, technical operations and facilities for both EPB Energy and EPB Fiber Optics, according to a news release. In his new role, he will lead efforts to more fully align EPB’s technical expertise, information systems, fiber optic network and smart grid electric infrastructure with every aspect of EPB’s effort to deliver world-class customer experiences.

“We’re seeing the emergence of a new phase of rapid technical innovation and increasing convergence between the energy and connectivity industries,” said David Wade, president and CEO of EPB in the same release. “As part of EPB’s mission to enhance the quality of life, we’re focused on translating all these technical possibilities into products and solutions that substantially benefit the people we serve. Ryan Keel has proven his tremendous ability to lead our team of technology experts as we work to keep our community on the cutting-edge while delivering strong value for our customers.”

Keel played a critical role in the initial design and build out of EPB’s Smart Grid, which is widely considered to be one of the most advanced and highly automated power distribution systems in the United States. In 2014, he was promoted to vice president of technical operations for both EPB Energy and EPB Fiber Optics. In addition to leading efforts to utilize Chattanooga’s Smart Grid to reduce the incidence and duration of outages by as much as 55% each year, Keel is leading a major upgrade of EPB’s fiber optic system to nextgeneration network technology.

Keel is a native Chattanoogan who earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Tennessee Tech University and an MBA from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He began working at EPB in 1997, and has held positions in engineering, operations and leadership.