VALLEY FORGE, PA — PJM Interconnection elected former utility executive Larry Bekkedahl and former North American Electric Reliability Corporation executive Charles Berardesco to three-year terms on its Board of Managers, as the regional grid operator confronts mounting reliability and transmission challenges across the U.S. power sector.
PJM members also reelected current board member Margaret Loebl to an additional three-year term, the organization announced.
The appointments took effect immediately following the election process conducted under PJM’s FERC-approved operating agreement.
Bekkedahl recently retired as senior vice president of strategy and advanced delivery at Portland General Electric and brings more than four decades of experience across utilities and transmission organizations, including roles with Bonneville Power Administration, PacifiCorp and Montana Power.
Berardesco previously served as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, or NERC, where he also held interim chief executive responsibilities.
“Larry and Charlie come to the Board with both regional and national perspectives in the electricity sector,” PJM President and Chief Executive Officer David E. Mills stated.
Their appointments come as PJM and other U.S. grid operators face growing scrutiny over electricity demand growth, transmission expansion, power plant retirements and long-term grid reliability.
Loebl, who joined the PJM board in 2020, currently chairs the organization’s Risk & Audit Committee.
Mills credited Loebl with helping oversee changes to PJM’s enterprise risk management, customer verification and credit programs during her tenure.
“We’re grateful to have her keen insight and experience for another term,” Mills stated.
Loebl previously served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of AgroFresh Solutions and has held finance, accounting and risk management leadership positions at multiple Fortune 500 companies.
PJM operates the nation’s largest electric grid, coordinating wholesale electricity markets and transmission systems across 13 states and the District of Columbia.
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