Officer and Counsel Bios
PRESIDENT
Will Kaul
Vice President, Transmission
Great River Energy
Will Kaul is in charge of the company’s entire transmission system, which includes more than 4,500 miles of line 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 many posts. Most recently he served as the director of generation and transmission services responsible for generation engineering, transmission, environmental services and land acquisition.
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.
VICE PRESIDENT
Joel deJesus
Assistant General Counsel, Federal Affairs
National Grid USA
Joel deJesus joined National Grid USA in October 2001. He works on federal regulatory matters before FERC and DOE. He is currently based in National Grid’s Washington D.C. office, and has primary responsibility for responding to all rulemakings and transmission policy initiatives coming out of FERC. Prior to joining National Grid, he served as Vice President for Regulatory Affairs for UtiliCom Networks, LLC a competitive cable/telecommunications provider that focused in joint ventures with electric utilities, and before that was Counsel at Swidler & Berlin.
Joel received a Juris Doctor Degree in 1990 from the University of Chicago, where he was a member of the law review, and a Bachelor or Arts in Government, with distinction in all subjects, in 1987 from Cornell University.
SECRETARY
Larry Bruneel
Vice President, Federal Affairs
ITC Holdings
Larry Bruneel is responsible for the development of federal regulatory strategies and advocacy issues brought before the U.S. Congress and federal agencies, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). He has more than 20 years of experience in federal energy policy issues, most recently focusing on issues affecting electric utilities. Prior to joining ITC Holdings, Bruneel was the assistant vice president for federal policy at We-Energies, served as technical advisor to Commissioner Vicky A. Bailey at FERC and acted as an industry policy analyst at the U.S.
Department of Energy.
Bruneel earned a Master of Science degree from Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, and a Bachelor degree from Michigan State University.
TREASURER
Anne Jinks
Manager, Federal Affairs
ITC Holdings
Anne Jinks is responsible for managing federal affairs for the company. Prior to her current position at ITC Holdings, she was responsible for developing and implementing the Stakeholder Relations process and activities for the company and development of the company’s website. Anne was previously employed at DTE Energy for over 32 years where she held a variety of positions in the Operations, Regulatory, and Transmission areas. During her last three years she worked in the Transmission Organization advocating transmission issues in the federal arena.
Anne earned a Bachelor of Administration degree in Marketing with distinction from Walsh College in Troy, Michigan.
COUNSEL, ADVISOR to WIRES
James John "Jim" Hoecker
Partner
Hoecker Energy Law and Policy LLC
Jim Hoecker serves as primary counsel and advisor to WIRES. An energy practitioner for nearly 30 years, Jim was a Member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission beginning in 1993 and Chairman from 1997 until leaving the agency in 2001. His Commission work includes Order No. 888, numerous decisions involving the independent transmission sector, and promotion of regional transmission management under Order No. 2000. While at FERC, Chairman Hoecker was a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and a Founding Board Member of the National Council on Competition in the Electric Industry. He later became Director of Allegheny Energy and now serves a variety of natural gas and electric power clients in private practice.
Hoecker earned a Bachelor of Arts from Northland College in Wisconsin, a Master of Arts and a Doctorate from the University of Kentucky and a Juris Doctor degree from University of Wisconsin Law School. He is a council member for the Section on Environment, Energy and Resources of the American Bar Association and has given many presentations and authored several publications.
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.