Dec 8, 2020   SOURCE: PR NewsWire

WIRES Announces 2021 Leadership Team

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- WIRES, the international trade association that promotes investment in all aspects of the high voltage grid, announced today its 2021 leadership team, with David Weaver, Vice President, Transmission Strategy at Exelon Corporation, elected as the new WIRES President.

The complete slate of WIRES officers for the 2021 term includes:

    --  President: David Weaver, Vice President, Transmission Strategy at Exelon
        Corp.
    --  Vice President: William Sauer, Federal Regulatory Affairs Director, Duke
        Energy
    --  Secretary: Jodi Moskowitz, Deputy General Counsel & RTO Strategy
        Officer, PSEG
    --  Treasurer: Kelly Pearce, Managing Director, Transmission Asset Strategy
        & Policy, American Electric Power

"All signals point to dynamic growth of the electrified economy in 2021, with expansion of renewable generation and progress toward the electrification of the transportation and building sectors," said Larry Gasteiger, Executive Director of WIRES. "To achieve the bold goals being set by states, corporations, utilities - and those anticipated from the incoming Biden Administration - it is clear that exponential growth in transmission is needed. I look forward to working with our expert WIRES team led by incoming president, David Weaver, to advance policies that encourage investment in strategic transmission."

WIRES' current president, Tom Hestermann will join the WIRES Board of Directors, and two current directors, Priti Patel and Nina Plaushin, will each serve for a second, 2-year term. The 2021 WIRES Board of Directors will include:

    --  David Bonenberger, Vice President, Transmission and Substations, PPL
        Electric Utilities
    --  Brian Gemmell, Vice President, Transmission Asset Management & Planning
        and Capital Delivery Electric, FERC, National Grid
    --  Tom Hestermann, Mgr., Transmission Policy, Sunflower Electric Power Corp
    --  Priti Patel, Vice President & Chief Transmission Officer at Great River
        Energy
    --  Nina Plaushin, Vice President at ITC Holdings

"As the voice of the transmission industry, WIRES will be leading efforts in 2021 to educate and advocate for advancements in North America's transmission infrastructure," said David Weaver President of WIRES, and Vice President, Transmission Strategy at Exelon Corp. "New transmission development will not only enable a transition to a clean energy future, it will also deliver a much-needed economic boost to workers and communities across the country. I'm excited to help WIRES bring about this important work."

The need for substantial growth in the transmission grid has been supported by a growing body of research, including an important study prepared by ScottMadden for WIRES this past year called Informing the Transmission Discussion. The report looks both regionally and nationally at the enormous amount of renewable resources coming online to meet clean energy mandates and goals, and the transmission required to bring that energy to load. It also details the transmission required to meet growing resilience concerns which are being driven by increasing extreme weather events, aging infrastructure, and growing cyber and physical threats to the grid.

About WIRES
WIRES is an international non-profit trade association of investor-, publicly-, and cooperatively owned transmission providers, transmission customers, regional grid managers, and equipment and service companies. WIRES promotes investment in electric transmission and progressive state and federal policies that advance energy markets, economic efficiency, and consumer and environmental benefits through development of electric power infrastructure. For more information, visit www.wiresgroup.com.

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SOURCE WIRES