Oct 23, 2017   SOURCE: BusinessWire

EIPC Planning Authorities Elect New Officers

Today the electric system planning authorities that formed the Eastern Interconnection Planning Collaborative (EIPC) announced the election of Stephen Rourke, Vice President, System Planning at ISO New England, to be the Chairman of the EIPC Executive Committee through 2018. Keith Daniel, Senior Vice President of Transmission Policy at Georgia Transmission Corporation, was elected to serve as Vice-Chairman.

The EIPC was formed by Eastern Interconnection Planning Authorities to conduct interconnection-wide transmission analysis. The EIPC has successfully completed a U.S. Department of Energy-funded analysis of the electric transmission system in eastern North America looking 20 years into the future, as well as an analysis of the interface between the electric transmission system and the natural gas delivery system. The EIPC also develops transmission system models of combined regional transmission plans and performs scenario analysis on those combined models to identify stress points on the system and identify gaps in the combined plans. The collaborative’s Executive Committee provides strategic leadership to EIPC’s continuing studies.

“Interregional power system planning is a critical element in the work being done by every power system in the entire Eastern Interconnection to ensure that the individual systems and the whole interconnection continue to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective electricity to the millions of homes and businesses between the Atlantic Ocean and the Rocky Mountains,” said Rourke. “The EIPC is a unique and invaluable organization, well positioned to address the challenges stemming from the rapid transformation of the power industry, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to contribute to this effort.”

Rourke has served as Vice President, System Planning for ISO New England since 2006, having previously served as the company’s Director, Reliability & Operations Services. With over 35 years of experience in operation and planning of the New England bulk power system and operation and administration of the region’s wholesale power markets, Rourke oversees ISO New England’s regional and interregional planning process. Those responsibilities include development of the biennial Regional System Plan, analysis of new transmission and generation projects for New England, implementation of the generator interconnection process, development of ISO findings for transmission cost allocation, the execution of regional economic planning studies requested by stakeholders, and operation and support of the Forward Capacity Market in New England. Rourke previously served in support of the New England Power Pool as Chairman of both the Reliability and Transmission committees.

Before joining ISO New England, Rourke managed the Rhode Island-Eastern Massachusetts-Vermont Energy Control center (REMVEC) in Westborough, MA, and served as manager of marketing operations for Northeast Utilities/Select Energy in Berlin, CT. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Western New England University (WNEU) in Springfield, MA, and is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

As Senior Vice President of Transmission Policy for Georgia Transmission Corporation, Daniel is responsible for directing transmission policy issues, both internal to Georgia Transmission and its members and those involving external parties and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. He also is responsible for Georgia Transmission’s planning functions, tariff and related issues, generation interconnections, system protection, and the system reliability area. He represents Georgia Transmission on various groups including the North American Transmission Forum, EIPC, and the Southeastern Regional Transmission Planning process.

A native of the Atlanta, Georgia area, Daniel received his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his MBA from Georgia State University. Daniel started his professional career with Southwire Company in Carrollton, Georgia. He has been with Georgia Transmission since 1988 and has served in various planning related capacities, including managing the load serving and bulk system planning areas. Daniel is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and is a registered professional engineer in the state of Georgia. He is married with three sons and is an active member of Journey Church.

About the EIPC

Formed under an agreement by 20 planning authorities from the Eastern United States and Canada, the EIPC has developed a “bottom-up” approach to transmission planning, starting with a roll-up of the existing grid expansion plans of electric system planning authorities in the Eastern Interconnection. The EIPC membership includes Alcoa Power Generating, Inc.; Associated Electric Coorperative, Inc.; Duke Energy Carolinas, Duke Energy Florida, and Duke Energy Progress; Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company; Florida Power & Light Company; Georgia Transmission Corporation (An Electric Membership Corporation); ISO New England, Inc.; JEA; Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc.; Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia; New York Independent System Operator, Inc.; PJM Interconnection; PowerSouth Energy Cooperative; South Carolina Electric & Gas Company; South Carolina Public Service Authority; Southern Company Services Inc., as agent for Alabama Power Company, Georgia Power Company, Gulf Power Company, and Mississippi Power Company; Southwest Power Pool, Inc.; and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

For more information, visit eipconline.com.