Board of Directors
Their mission is to educate legislative officials and the public as well as to promote awareness about the transmission business and the need for improvement across the nation.
Linda H. Blair
Senior Vice President, Business Strategy
ITC Holdings
Linda H. Blair is responsible for short and long-term strategic planning, regulatory affairs, internal and external communications and the company's human resources function. Prior to joining ITC Holdings in 2000, Blair served as a supervisor in Detroit Edison's Regulatory Affairs Department where she developed and managed all regulatory relations and communications activities within the Michigan Public Service Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Blair earned a Bachelor of Science in public affairs management and a Master of Science in business administration from Michigan State University.
Janet Gail Besser
Vice President, Transmission Regulation and Commercial
National Grid USA
Janet Gail Besser oversees all regulatory and commercial policy issues for U.S. transmission at the federal and state levels. She’s also in charge of development and presentation of company positions regarding regulatory rulemakings and rate cases. Before joining National Grid in 2004, Besser held senior management positions at two economic, regulatory, policy and strategy consulting firms, and was chair of the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy where she focused on industry restructuring. She has also served on several reputable industry groups.
Besser earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Williams College.
Paul D. McCoy, P.E.
President and Chief Operating Officer
Trans-Elect, Inc.
Paul D. McCoy directs the overall operation of affiliated operating companies for Trans-Elect, Inc., which specializes in the acquisition, construction and independent operation of transmission systems. Prior to co-founding Trans-Elect in 1999, he spent 27 years at Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), lastly as Executive Vice President of Unicom (ComEd’s holding company), and President of ComEd’s Transmission Group. As an influential contributor to the overall utility business, McCoy has held numerous leadership positions in major industry organizations and helped form the Midwest Independent System Operator.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, and is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Illinois. McCoy is also an independent member of the AltaLink Board of Directors, and is chair of its Governance and Compensation Committee.
Will Kaul
Vice President, Transmission
Great River Energy
Will Kaul is in charge of the company’s transmission system, which includes more than 4,500 miles of power lines and 100 substations covering 62 percent of the state of Minnesota. Before joining Great River Energy, Kaul spent most of his career with one of the organization’s predecessors, Cooperative Power, where he held various positions including director of generation and transmission services, responsible for generation engineering, transmission, environmental services and land acquisition. He was on the staff at the Minnesota Legislature and a regulator with the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board.
Kaul earned a Bachelor of Science in economics from the University of Minnesota. He is chair of the CapX 2020 project and a member of the executive committee of the Mid-Continent Area Power Pool.
Debra L. Anderson
Director, Regulatory Affairs
Oncor Electric Delivery Company, LLC
Debra L. Anderson serves as Director, Regulatory Affairs for Oncor Electric Delivery Company, LLC. Oncor operates the largest distribution and transmission system in Texas, providing power to more than 3 million electric delivery points over more than 102,000 miles of distribution and 14,000 miles of transmission lines. In her role at Oncor, Ms. Anderson is responsible for managing Oncor’s transmission regulatory activities at the state and federal level and for management, coordination and communication of municipal and regional regulation matters in the more than 400 cities served by Oncor. Her career with the Company has spanned over thirty years and has been concentrated in the areas of state and local regulation, nuclear quality assurance, and litigation support.
More information about WIRES can be obtained by contacting Jim Hoecker (counsel and advisor to WIRES, former Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) at 202.549.0584 or jhoecker@helppllc.com or by visiting our Web site at www.wiresgroup.com.