Ex-Pasadena Water and Power GM Appointed to Board of Energy Organization

Former Pasadena Water and Power General Manager Phyllis Currie has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the nation’s first regional transmission organization, Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), Inc.

Currie’s three-year term begins in January 2016. She was appointed on December 10, 2015 at the same time as Mark S. Johnson, another African-American, who was the former Vice President of Transmission Operations for Pacific Gas and Electric.

Currie was at PWP’s helm for 14 years, retiring in June this year. She started working for PWP in 2001 following a 30-year career with the city of Los Angeles where she served as Chief Financial Officer of the LA Department of Water and Power.

Currie also served as board chairman of the American Public Power Association in 2012, and was also on the board of the Electric Power Research Institute.

When she retired from PWP, Currie started serving as president of the California Municipal Utilities Association and board member of the Southern California Public Power Authority.

Currie is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Her and Johnson’s appointment completes the expansion of the MISO corporate board from seven to nine independent seats.

Headquartered in Carmel, Indiana, MISO manages one of the largest energy markets, with more than $37 billion in annual gross market energy transactions. It ensures reliable operation of and equal access to high-voltage power lines in 15 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Manitoba.

MISO was approved in 2001 as the nation’s first regional transmission organization.