People

New Opportunities:

The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) named Steve Larson executive director. Larson most recently was executive director of the California Energy Commission and chief deputy director of the department of finance.

PG&E Corp. elected Leslie H. Everett senior vice president and assistant to the chairman. PG&E Corp. also elected Russell M. Jackson senior vice president, human resources.

Xcel Energy subsidiary Utility Engineering Corp. named R. Ross McCausland CFO of the company. He is executive vice president of Quixx Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Utility Engineering Corp. The company also promoted Jimmy D. Williams to chief technical officer.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission named Susan Court as chief of staff. Court has served as associate general counsel for General and Administrative Law and as the Designated Agency Ethics Official.

Stephen R. Wood joined Sierra Pacific Resources as vice president of human resources and support services, assuming many of the responsibilities of Victor Pena , senior vice president and chief administrative officer, who plans to retire. For the past four years Wood has been co-founder and president of three private equity start-up companies in the Louisville, Ky., area.

Constellation Energy named Jeanne M. Blondia as treasurer. Blondia previously served as Constellation Energy's assistant treasurer.

Shuffle Board:

The Electric Power Research Institute board of directors elected Steven Specker as its head, replacing the retiring Kurt Yeager .

The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) elected Richard F. Gill to its board of directors. Gill is executive vice president and chairman of the executive committee for The Shaw Group. He will serve a three-year term on the NEI Board.

FirstEnergy Corp. elected Richard R. Grigg executive vice president and COO. Grigg recently retired as president and CEO of WE Generation.

Direct Energy named Phillip W. Tonge president, Direct Energy, LP. He will lead all Texas operations, including CPL Retail Energy and WTU Retail Energy in South and West Texas.

Allegheny Energy Inc. named James B. Kauffman to the newly created position of vice president and chief information officer for the company. Kauffman previously was director of information services for Allegheny.

TECO Energy's board of directors elected Sherrill Hudson as chairman and CEO. John Ramil was elected president of TECO Energy and COO, and Gordon Gillette was named executive vice president and CFO.

Resigned:

James Glotfelty , director of the Energy Department's Office of Electric Transmission and Distribution, resigned in early August. William Parks is the new acting director of the office.

Retired:

Exelon President and COO Oliver Kingsley will retire later this year. Chairman and CEO John Rowe will take over Kingsley's duties upon Kingsley's retirement.

TECO Energy said former Chairman, CEO, and President Robert Fagan would retire no later than Nov. 1, 2004. Until his retirement he will serve as an assistant to the chairman to facilitate the transition.

Lawrence De Simone , executive vice president of PPL Corp., retired from the company Sept. 1. James Miller moved into the role of executive vice president and COO the same day.

Correction:

In our July issue we misidentified the former Progress Energy board chairman.