SEPA Membership Elects New Board Members

Washington, DC (Vocus) October 22, 2010

The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) has elected five new members to its Board of Directors and re-elected one member to serve an extra term. The Board members had been chosen by a vote of the SEPA membership and announced at its Annual Membership Meeting last week, in conjunction with the Solar Power International trade show.

“As leaders in the utility and solar energy arenas, the members of our Board of Directors supply strategic guidance that assists staff supply ever-increasing value to our members and progress towards fulfilling the mission of the organization,” said SEPA President and CEO, Julia Hamm. “SEPA’s membership — which consists of utilities, solar companies and other businesses — is lucky to have these individuals to represent their interests.”

SEPA’s Board of Directors assists guide the development of unbiased utility solar market intelligence, up-to-date details about technologies and company models, and peer-to-peer interaction that are the core of the association’s mission.

As part of a restructure earlier this year, the SEPA Board of Directors was increased from 18 to 20 seats allowing for representation from a broader spectrum of the energy industry. Seats on the Board are apportioned across seven membership categories. Board members serve three-year terms.

The new members of SEPA’s board are:

Eran Mahrer, Director of Renewable Energy, Arizona Public Service

Eran Mahrer is the Director of Renewable Energy at Arizona Public Service (APS), the state’s largest electric utility. Over the last five years, Mahrer has led the organization in developing innovative programs to meet the state’s aggressive Renewable Energy Standard. He is responsible for a budget of much more than $ 700 million over the next five years to support APS’s goal of exceeding these renewable energy requirements, which includes $ 350 million for customer-sited distributed energy incentives.

Luis Reyes, CEO, Kit Carson Electric Cooperative

As CEO of Kit Carson Rural Electric Cooperative in Northern, New Mexico, Luis Reyes has supplied vision and leadership to turn the cooperative into a company that gives a range of diverse, competitive services which includes broadband Internet, renewable energy alternatives, and low-price propane. At the NRCEA meeting in 2002, Reyes accepted the NOVA Award as Kit Carson was recognized for its contributions to the community. Kit Carson was also recognized in November 2002 by the New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry, for its work in helping build powerful vital communities in Northern New Mexico.

Theresa Williams, Senior Policy Advisor, Western Area Power Administration

Theresa Williams was named Senior Planning Advisor for Western Location Power Administration (Western) in December 2009 and focuses on some of Western’s strategic initiatives which includes the newly formed Transmission Infrastructure Program (TIP). As component of TIP, she is project manager for the proposed Sonoran-Mojave Renewable Transmission project which would construct new transmission lines and upgrade the existing grid to help deliver utility scale solar and wind energy from remote sites in southeastern California and western Arizona to load centers across the desert southwest. She has also served as a manager of some of Western’s power marketing and energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, as nicely as manager of administrative programs.

Janet Gagnon, Head of Government Relations, SolarWorld

Janet Gagnon heads government relations and lobbying efforts on federal, state and local levels for SolarWorld. Gagnon also serves on the Board of Directors for the Solar Energy Industries Association, the Solar Alliance, CalSEIA, CoSEIA, and NYSEIA. Prior to SolarWorld, Gagnon served as in-home counsel for largest dietary supplement manufacturer and distributor in the U.S. and owner of the #1 selling brand in U.S. She was responsible for all legal functions, which includes negotiations of agreements for marketing and advertising, spokespersons, procurement, and outside consultants. Formerly, Gagnon was Vice President, European Policy and Worldwide Royalties for the Independent Film and Tv Association where she headed lobbying on international treaties and in-country intellectual property law. Also, she was responsible for overseeing the for-profit worldwide royalty division.

Lisa Frantzis, Managing Director, Navigant Consulting

Lisa Frantzis is Managing Director of the Renewable and Distributed Energy practice at Navigant Consulting. With 30 years of expertise in managing extensive technical, marketplace, and economic analyses of solar energy systems, she is recognized for her depth of understanding and technical and strategic expertise. Her clients incorporate policy makers, equipment manufacturers, oil firms, developers, utility organizations, environmental groups, investors, and neighborhood, state, and federal governments. She has worked at high levels of government agencies to comprehend the effectiveness of government policies for solar energy, and is working with a lot of utility firms across the U.S. on solar company models and implementation techniques. She was on the Board of Directors for the American Council on Renewable Energy for four years, was a Vice President of the Solar Energy Enterprise Association of New England, and is a member of the American Wind Energy Association and Solar Electric Power Association. She has authored several journal articles and has been quoted in the New York Times, Company Week, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Financial Times and other key publications on renewable energy problems.

Re-elected for an additional three-year term is Mark Dougherty, Director of Distributed Generation &amp Renewable Programs for Long Island Power Authority. Dougherty manages LIPA’s renewable generation programs which includes Solar Pioneer, Solar Entrepreneur, and Backyard Wind Initiative. He also manages LIPA’s investigation &amp development distributed generation programs and demonstration projects. In addition to serving on SEPA’s Board of Directors, Dougherty serves on the Boards of the Association of State Energy Study &amp Technologies Transfer Institutions (ASERTTI) and Higher Lengthy Island Clean Cities Coalition (GLICCC).

SEPA’s 2010-2011 Board of Directors

Chairman

David Rubin, Director of Service Analysis, Pacific Gas and Electric Organization*

Vice Chairman

Carl Siegrist, Senior Renewable Energy Strategist, We Energies*

Secretary/Treasurer

Ervan Hancock, Manager of Renewable &amp Green Techniques, Georgia Power*

Directors

Jon Bertolino, Superintendent, Renewable Energy, Sacramento Municipal Utility District*

Matt Cheney, CEO, CleanPath Ventures, LLC

Mark Dougherty, Director of Distributed Generation &amp Renewable Programs, Lengthy Island Power Authority*

Tom Dyer, Sr. Vice President Government Affairs, Kyocera Solar

Lisa Frantzis, Managing Director, Navigant Consulting

Janet Gagnon, Head of Government Relations, SolarWorld

Alex Kim, Director of Customer Innovations, San Diego Gas &amp Electric*

Eran Mahrer, Director of Renewable Energy, Arizona Public Service

Pam Newell, Item Portfolio Manager, Xcel Energy

Ed Regan, PE, Assistant General Manager for Strategic Planning, Gainesville Regional Utilities

Luis Reyes, CEO, Kit Carson Electric Cooperative

Owen Smith, Managing Director, Renewable Technique &amp Compliance, Duke Energy

David Spradlin, General Manager, Springer Electric Cooperative

Judy Staley, Director, Legislative Affairs, REC Solar, Inc.*

Jennifer Szaro, Renewable Energy Manager, Orlando Utilities Commission

Theresa Williams, Senior Policy Advisor, Western Area Power Administration

*Executive Committee

ABOUT SEPA

The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) is an educational non-profit organization dedicated to helping utilities integrate solar power into their energy portfolios. With far more than 750 utility and solar business members, SEPA supplies unbiased utility solar marketplace intelligence, up-to-date details about technologies and company models, and peer-to-peer interaction. From hosting national events to one-on-1 counseling, SEPA assists utilities make intelligent solar decisions. For far more information, check out http://www.solarelectricpower.org .

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