Electric Power & Energy Systems Seminar with John Norris

When

October 30, 2018    
1:10 pm - 2:00 pm

Where

3043 ECpE Building Addition
Coover Hall, Ames, Iowa, 50011

Event Type

Speaker: John Norris, Former Chair of the Iowa Utilities Board and Former FERC Commissioner

Title: The Intersection of Energy Politics and Policy: Stories from the Trenches

Bio: John Norris is a Partner and Co-Owner of the State Public Policy Group (SPPG) based in Des Moines, Iowa. SPPG, founded in 1984, works with clients in the public, private and non-profit sectors providing issue management, research, advocacy, stakeholder outreach and facilitation, and project management services. Norris has over three decades of political, policy and administrative experience at the highest levels of state and federal government including extensive experience on energy and agricultural issues. Prior to joining SPPG Norris served as the Minister-Counselor for Agriculture for the United States Mission to the United Nations Agencies in Rome, Italy. He was appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2009 and again in 2012 to serve as a Commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In 1999, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack asked Norris to Chair the Governor’s Working Group on Electric Restructuring. The legislation resulting from his work made Iowa a national leader in wind generation. Vilsack subsequently appointed Norris as Chairman of the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB). While Chairman of the IUB, Norris also was elected President of the Organization of Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) States and he chaired the Demand Response Working Group for the MISO. He Co-chaired the FERC/NARUC Smart Grid and Emerging Issues Collaboratives, served on the Board of Directors of the National Regulatory Research Institute, was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Iowa Power Fund and served on the Advisory Council of the Iowa Energy Center. Norris has spoken extensively on energy, agriculture and regulatory issues both domestically and internationally. In addition to his extensive policy and issue development work, Norris has served as Chief of Staff to a U.S. cabinet secretary (USDA), a governor and a member of Congress. These administrative responsibilities have included overseeing the hiring of hundreds of key staff members and the management of multi-billion dollar budgets.

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