People

“Utilities were focused on what’s happening in the states where they operated and had different opinions about what could be done from a national standpoint. To bring all of that together, Tom’s ability to leverage leaders and others to broker deals was something to behold.”

“It starts with building that one voice within the industry. There’re a lot of different CEOs. Everybody has their own playbook, and not everybody agrees on everything. But Tom, under his tenure, has taken building consensus to a new level.”

“Tom took it upon himself to assure that EEI, as part of now its central mission, was able to support activities like national response events and cyber activity.”

“When you put all these ingredients together: a purpose driven mindset, a humble, servant leader who seeks to collaborate and bring people together to develop sustainable constructive solutions, you have a secret sauce like no other.”

Conversations with Ameren Executive Chair Warner Baxter; Southern Company Executive Chair Tom Fanning; Xcel Energy Executive Chair Ben Fowke; American Electric Power Executive Chair Nick Akins; Edison International CEO Pedro Pizarro; Portland General Electric CEO Maria Pope; PNM Resources CEO Pat Vincent-Collawn; retired DTE Energy CEO Gerry Anderson; retired NV Energy CEO Michael Yackira; retired Sierra Pacific Resources CEO Walt Higgins; retired TXU Corporation CEO Erle Nye; and retired EEI Executive Vice President David Owens.

Tom Kuhn has taken a distinctive approach to leading the Edison Electric Institute. He tirelessly sought to drive his diverse membership of investor-owned electric utilities to an agreement to act that was significantly tougher to come to, but significantly more impactful for the utilities industry, for the customers the industry serves, and for our nation.

Accenture’s three day conference in Los Angeles included engaging workshops, presentations, and discussions.

“Working with our contracted architects and design teams, my design hinged upon the information I brought back from my trips overseas. We knew, if they could do it again, this is what they would have done.”

NARUC’s Summer Summit took place in Austin this year and PUF held its always popular annual Soapbox luncheon during the conference. Thirteen speakers hopped on their soapboxes to say or sing whatever was on their minds.

The NARUC Summer Policy Summit was held in Austin amid much camaraderie and heat in Texas. While the Monday opening General Session looked back at the Northeast Blackout of 2003, ERCOT kept the electric grid humming along in a heat wave that kept temperatures above one hundred all week.