Officer and Counsel Bios
Four officers and our General Counsel are responsible for running the business of the WIRES group. Officers serve a one-year term and can serve consecutive terms.
PRESIDENT Don Clevenger is responsible for Oncor’s legislative and regulatory affairs, including interacting with state and federal lawmakers and the Public Utility Commission of Texas and other regulatory agencies. He previously served as the company’s Vice President and Corporate Secretary, leading the internal legal group and overseeing the strategic and day-to-day legal needs of Oncor Electric Delivery. Clevenger also was a partner in the law firm of Hunton & Williams. He is a member of both the Texas Bar Association and the Dallas Bar Association and serves on the board of directors of the Association of Electric Companies of Texas. Clevenger is a graduate of Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and also holds a bachelor’s degree from Abilene Christian University. |
PRESIDENT-ELECT Phillip Grigsby leads Duke Energy’s commercial transmission group, which includes Pioneer Transmission, a joint venture between Duke Energy and American Electric Power to build and operate extra-high-voltage transmission lines and related facilities in Indiana. He previously served as senior vice president of Duke’s Midwest generation portfolio and has held various positions related to transmission and commercial power since joining Duke in 1988. Prior to joining the company, he worked at Exxon Company USA in the production geology department. Grigsby holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting from Houston Baptist University and a master of business administration degree from the University of Houston. |
VICE PRESIDENT John Flynn joined American Transmission Co. in 2010 as its first vice president of business development. He is responsible for strategic & project planning, regulatory relations, and leading ATC’s efforts to expand transmission development opportunities outside of its current service territory. Flynn also serves as President of Duke-American Transmission Company (DATC) – a 50/50 joint venture between Duke Energy and ATC which pursues transmission development nationwide. Flynn previously served in several key transmission leadership roles at American Electric Power in Columbus, OH, including managing director of Strategic Planning, Finance & Business Development for AEP Transmission, president of Pioneer Transmission (a joint AEP/Duke Energy venture), and executive vice president of Electric Transmission America (an AEP/MidAmerican Holdings joint venture). Flynn graduated from Fairfield University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. |
SECRETARY Steven Burtch leads the business development effort at AltaLink. He has
extensive
experience in regulated and unregulated markets. |
TREASURER Gerald Deaver manages regional transmission organization membership and participation for the Transmission business unit at Xcel Energy. He has extensive legal experience in all phases of state utility regulation. Deaver joined Xcel Energy in 2009 and has more than 25 years of experience in legal and regulatory issues, and in finance, in the electric utility industry. Previously, he worked for Avista Utilities (first as an account/rate case witness and later managing financial analysis and claims/damages), and in the legal departments of Kansas Gas & Electric Co., Long Island Lighting Company, the New York Independent System Operator and Allegheny Energy. Elected WIRES Treasurer in 2013 after serving as Secretary from 2011 through 2012, Deaver holds a Bachelor of Arts from Eastern Washington University and a Juris Doctorate from Gonzaga University. He is a member of the bar in the State of Washington. |
COUNSEL, ADVISOR to WIRES Jim Hoecker serves as primary counsel and
advisor to WIRES. An energy practitioner for nearly 30 years, Jim was a Member
of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission beginning in 1993 and Chairman from
1997 until leaving the agency in 2001. His Commission work includes Order No.
888, numerous decisions involving the independent transmission
sector, and promotion of regional transmission management under Order No.
2000. While at FERC, Chairman Hoecker was a member of the National Association
of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and a Founding Board Member of the National
Council on Competition in the Electric Industry. He later became Director of
Allegheny Energy and now serves a variety of natural gas and electric power
clients in private practice. |
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