ERCOT appoints an interim president
Executive, who will serve for up to a year, is power industry veteran, ex-grid COO
Directors of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state’s grid manager, on Tuesday named a power industry veteran and former ERCOT official as interim president and CEO.
Brad Jones, former president and CEO of the New York Independent System Operator in Albany from 2015 to 2018, replaces CEO Bill Magness, who was ousted after the deadly winter storm that brought down the state’s power grid in February.
“The Board looks forward to working with Brad during this time as ERCOT prepares for summer operations,” ERCOT Director Mark Carpenter said in a Tuesday release. “He is an experienced leader and understands the ERCOT vision and mission.”
Jones could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Jones will serve for up to a year while ERCOT looks for a permanent president and CEO. Magness has continued to work with state leaders and power regulators to craft potential reforms in the wake of the storm that left 4 million Texans without power.
The 30-year industry veteran served as senior vice president and COO of ERCOT from January to October 2015 and as vice president of commercial operations from April 2013 to December 2014.
Leaders of ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of Texas, which oversees ERCOT and regulates the state’s electric, telecommunication, and water and sewer utilities, have come under fire from Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas legislators for the widespread outages that lasted for days after generators were knocked out by the winter storm.
Magness’ ouster followed the resignations of five ERCOT directors in late February. Also in the wake of the storm, PUC chairman DeAnn Walker and Commissioner Shelly Botkin resigned in early March. Commissioner Arthur D’Andrea, who was promoted to fill Walker’s post, resigned on March 16. D’Andrea was forced to resign after he was reportedly heard on a leaked recording promising out-of-state investors that he would stop efforts to reverse billions of dollars in charges for wholesale electricity during February’s power crisis.
Because of the recent ERCOT board resignations, PUC Chair Peter Lake, who only last week took over for D’Andrea, directed Tuesday’s meeting, a move allowed by the state’s Public Utility Regulatory Act.
Will McAdams, a former state Senate staffer and president of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Texas, recently was named a PUC commissioner, leaving one vacancy for Abbott to fill.