SPP announces new vice presidents of markets and engineering
LITTLE ROCK, ARK. — Southwest Power Pool (SPP) announces changes to its senior leadership team. SPP has chosen Antoine Lucas to serve as Vice President of Markets, a new senior leadership position, effective Jan. 1, 2023. Lucas had previously served as SPP’s Vice President of Engineering. David Kelley, previously SPP’s Director of Seams and Tariff Services, will now serve as Vice President of Engineering.
In his new role, Lucas will oversee development, design and provision of all SPP market-based services. He will work with stakeholders to ensure continued provision of the efficient and reliable wholesale electricity markets currently administered under the SPP Open Access Transmission Tariff and to develop additional value-added services.
Senior Vice President of Operations Bruce Rew will continue to lead SPP’s real-time operations, operational planning and analysis, and reliability coordination efforts. Additionally, Bruce will continue to oversee the expansion of SPP’s regional transmission organization (RTO) footprint, including RTO West, SPP’s RTO expansion effort in the Western Interconnection.
These changes allow SPP to continue to focus on the reliable operation of the bulk electric system while managing its ever-growing markets. These include the day-ahead wholesale Integrated Marketplace SPP has administered in the Eastern Interconnection since 2014, and in the Western Interconnection its Western Energy Imbalance Services (WEIS) market that launched in February 2021 and Markets+, a suite of market-related services being designed in collaboration with western utilities now.
“I look forward to taking on this new role,” Lucas said. “I’m excited to partner with our great staff and stakeholders to build from the current success of SPP’s markets and meet the challenges and opportunities of the future.”
David Kelley has been selected to serve as Vice President of Engineering. Kelley will be tasked with the ongoing development of SPP’s transmission expansion plan, administration of generator interconnection and transmission service study processes, administration of regional resource adequacy policies and performance of engineering studies.
“I am incredibly excited to lead the talented, hard-working staff of SPP’s engineering organization and to continue serving our stakeholders in support of SPP’s mission,” Kelley said. “Our industry is ripe for innovation on so many fronts, and SPP is well positioned to deliver a brighter future for our region.”
Kelley has more than 20 years of experience in the electric utility industry, having served the last 14 years in various engineering and markets leadership roles at SPP. Most recently, he was SPP’s Director, Seams and Tariff Services. David also serves on the board of directors of the Division of Science and Technology of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. He has a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Louisiana Tech University, an MBA from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Arkansas.