Conversation with Michael Yackira
Michael Yackira is the former CEO of NV Energy. He is one of three independent directors of 8Point3 Energy Partners and has served a chair of the Edison Electric Institute.
You shall see when you read on that Michael Yackira had a remarkable career in the leadership of two major utilities. So, when we spotted him at the Edison Electric Institute and Canadian Electricity Association-sponsored Global Grid Forum in Vancouver on September 10 - 11, we knew he should sit for a PUF interview. Yackira was at the center of — and a driver of — some of the industry's biggest developments of the last quarter century. He remains active on boards and in charitable activities but seems keen to contribute more. Perhaps via a utility board?
PUF's Steve Mitnick: Give an overview of your career.
Michael Yackira: I started working for utilities in 1984 when I joined telecommunications giant GTE, which is the predecessor company of Verizon. I worked for GTE for five years and then moved to the electric industry with what was then FPL Group, the parent company of Florida Power and Light, now NextEra.
I was with that company from 1989 until 2000. I fell in love with the industry. First of all, the need for electricity is something that is not well understood. It's because our reliability is so high that most people don't think much about the fact that almost everything that we do requires electricity. People don't think about it because it's always available.