ERCOT Board of Directors elects new Chair and Vice-Chair

Feb. 9, 2021, AUSTIN – The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) Board of Directors today elected Sally A. Talberg to serve as their new Board Chair and Peter Cramton to serve as Vice-Chair. Talberg recently began serving as an Unaffiliated Director on the ERCOT Board on Jan. 1, 2021, and Cramton has served as an Unaffiliated Director since October 2015.

"We would like to congratulate Sally and Peter on their new roles on the ERCOT Board, and look forward to working with them on addressing the challenges of an evolving grid in the years to come," said ERCOT President and CEO Bill Magness.

"ERCOT is a world-class electric grid operator, and it is exciting to be part of this organization as it continues to evolve its markets, planning and operations in response to unprecedented change in the electric industry," said ERCOT Board Chair Sally Talberg. "From my observation, the Board is successful in large part because of ERCOT’s stakeholder process and the role and leadership of the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature."

Sally A. Talberg

Talberg is a former state utility regulator with 25 years of experience in energy and environmental regulatory policy. She served as a gubernatorial appointee on the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) from 2013 through 2020, including more than four years as chair under two administrations. As a commissioner, Sally served on various state, regional and national boards and committees, representing the MPSC on electricity, natural gas, oil, infrastructure and telecommunications issues.

Prior to the MPSC, Talberg worked as a senior consultant at Public Sector Consultants, most notably co-leading the development of Michigan Saves, a nonprofit green bank that has financed over $200 million in energy efficiency projects. She also helped staff the state's wind zone board and offshore wind council.

Talberg also served in an advisory capacity to commissioners at the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the MPSC, addressing retail and wholesale market issues, facility siting, ratemaking and other regulatory issues.

Peter Cramton

Cramton is Professor of Economics at the University of Cologne and the University of Maryland (Emeritus since 2018). Since 1983, he has conducted research on auctions and market design, with a focus on the design of complex markets to best achieve goals. Applications include electricity markets, financial markets and auctions for radio spectrum. Cramton has introduced innovative market designs in many industries and has advised numerous governments on market design and dozens of bidders in major auctions. He is chief economist and advisor for startups in finance, insurance and communications.

Background on ERCOT Board of Directors

ERCOT’s 16-member board of directors includes five independent, unaffiliated members; nine market sector representatives; the chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and the president and CEO of ERCOT. Changes to ERCOT Protocols must be approved by the Board and filed with the PUC prior to implementation.

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