WSCC, SWRTA, AND WRTA Merge

May 9, 2002
SALT LAKE CITY – At a landmark meeting on April 18, 2002, the Western Systems Coordinating Council (WSCC), Southwest Regional Transmission Association (SWRTA), and Western Regional Transmission Association (WRTA) merged to form the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC). The new organization, WECC, will continue to be responsible for coordinating and promoting electric system reliability as has been done by WSCC since its formation nearly 35 years ago. In addition to promoting a reliable electric power system in the Western Interconnection, WECC will support efficient competitive power markets, assure open and non-discriminatory transmission access among members, and provide a forum for resolving transmission access disputes. “This is truly a historical milestone for the electric system customers and stakeholders in Western North America,†said Dennis E. Eyre, WECC executive director.

SALT LAKE CITY – At a landmark meeting on April 18, 2002, the Western Systems Coordinating Council (WSCC), Southwest Regional Transmission Association (SWRTA), and Western Regional Transmission Association (WRTA) merged to form the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC). The new organization, WECC, will continue to be responsible for coordinating and promoting electric system reliability as has been done by WSCC since its formation nearly 35 years ago. In addition to promoting a reliable electric power system in the Western Interconnection, WECC will support efficient competitive power markets, assure open and non-discriminatory transmission access among members, and provide a forum for resolving transmission access disputes. “This is truly a historical milestone for the electric system customers and stakeholders in Western North America,” said Dennis E. Eyre, WECC executive director.

As a result of the merger, WECC will reduce overlap and duplication between organizations that have been performing similar tasks. While providing significant improvements in efficiency, WECC also has been formed with a superior governance structure. The new WECC Board consists of twenty-seven Director positions, including twenty Member Class Directors and seven Non-Affiliated Directors.

The Non-Affiliated Directors are: Janice B. Case, former senior vice president of Florida Power Corporation; John T. Coughlin, former utility commissioner in the State of Wisconsin; Jack L. King, former president of Oglethorpe Power; Tim Newton, former vice president of Powerex; Maria C. Richter, former managing director of Morgan Stanley; Jananne Sharpless, former commissioner of the California Energy Commission; and James H. Young, Jr., former senior vice president of South Carolina Electric & Gas and currently chairman of the Midwest ISO.

The Member Class Directors are: Class 1 – Jack E. Davis, president of Arizona Public Service Company; Thomas A. Delawder, vice president of Tucson Electric Power Company; Ronald D. Nunnally, director, Southern California Edison Company; and William A. Pascoe, vice president of NorthWestern Energy. Class 2 – Richard G. Ferreira, consultant, Transmission Agency of Northern California; Maude Grantham-Richards, director, Farmington Electric Utility System; Charles J. Hosken, general manager, Public Utility District No. 1 of Chelan County; and Steve R. Mendoza, executive director, Arizona Power Authority. Class 3 – Rick A. Bowen, executive vice president of Dynegy Power Corp.; Anne M. Cleary, president – west region of Mirant Americas Inc.; Ken Peterson, president and CEO of Powerex; and John H. Stout, senior vice president of Reliant Energy Services. Class 4 – Scott Cauchois, chief of the Electricity Resources and Pricing Branch, California Office of Ratepayer Advocates; Scott A. Gutting, president of Energy Strategies LLC; Nancy L. Kelly, economist, Utah Committee Consumer Services; and Steven E. LaFond, electricity resource management, The Boeing Company. Class 5 – William M. Chamberlain, chief counsel, California Energy Commission; Denise Mullen-Dalmer, director, British Columbia Ministry of Energy; R. Prasad Potturi, electrical engineering bureau chief, New Mexico Public Regulation Commission; and Marsha H. Smith, commissioner, Idaho Public Utilities Commission.

The formation of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) was accomplished over a four-year period through the cooperative efforts of WSCC, SWRTA, WRTA and other regional organizations in the West. WECC’s interconnection-wide focus is intended to complement current efforts to form Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO) in various parts of the West.

For more information on WECC and its formation, visit WECC’s web site (http://www.wecc.biz). The web site also includes information on the electric industry’s electricity supply and delivery programs and activities in the West.

WECC - one of the 10 electric reliability councils in North America, encompassing a geographic area equivalent to over half the United States - is responsible for promoting electric system reliability, competitive electricity markets, access to the transmission grid, and providing a forum for coordinating the operating and planning activities of its 145 members. The members, representing all segments of the electric industry, provide electricity to 71 million people in 14 Western states, two Canadian provinces, and portions of one Mexican state.

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Western Electricity Coordinating Council

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