Taking an additional step toward a more competitive future, Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. announced Wednesday (3/12) that, effective April 1, it is forming a new Retail Energy Supply group to lead PP&L's entry into the new electricity marketplace.
The Retail Energy Supply group will compete with other suppliers to sell electricity to customers throughout Pennsylvania — including PP&L's current customers — and to electricity users throughout the Mid-Atlantic region as more customers become eligible to choose electricity suppliers.
Leading the new organization will be John F. Sipics, who has been named vice president-Retail Energy Supply. Sipics has been the company's general manager-Power Systems Support since 1994.
William F. Hecht, PP&L's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said the initial efforts of this new marketing organization will be aimed at selling electricity in the Pennsylvania customer choice pilot programs, which are expected to begin this summer.
Under the customer choice legislation passed last year, customers in Pennsylvania will have the opportunity to select the company that generates their electricity.
"PP&L is committed to providing customers in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic region with the best in electricity supplies as more customers have the opportunity to choose their electricity supplier. This new organization will enable us to follow through on that commitment.
"We have a proven track record of delivering on the promise of high-quality service at competitive prices. By establishing this new marketing organization, we are taking an important step in widening our reputation as a company that customers should choose as they have more choices in the marketplace," said Hecht. He noted that, in addition to Pennsylvania, some of the New England states have allowed customer choice, and the company expects that electricity markets will open up in other states in the near future.
In related changes, PP&L is forming a Generation group that will ensure that the company operates its "excellent mix" of power plants in a way that provides maximum value in a deregulated, competitive marketplace. Effective April 1, the Generation group will include the company's Susquehanna nuclear power plant as well as its fossil-fuel and hydro facilities. The new organization will provide opportunities to optimize resources and take advantage of the strong technical talents in both departments.
Key leaders in this new group include:
- Robert G. Byram, who has been named senior vice president- Generation and Chief Nuclear Officer. Byram will have overall responsibility for the operation of the company's generation business. He has been senior vice president-Nuclear since 1993.
- George T. Jones, vice president-Nuclear Operations, and Robert J. Shovlin, vice president-Power Production, will report to Byram. William E. Burchill, manager-Nuclear Assessment Services, will continue to report to Byram.
- In the Nuclear organization, Jones will assume additional responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the Nuclear Department, taking over most of the Nuclear-related functions that now report to Byram. In addition, George J. Kuczynski has been named to the new position of general manager of the company's Susquehanna nuclear power plant and Glenn D. Miller has been named general manager of Nuclear Engineering. Kuczynski has been Susquehanna plant manager and Miller has been Nuclear Engineering manager. Both will continue to report to Jones.
Hecht said that these changes are a significant part of PP&L's effort to realign the company for the future.
"PP&L has a long history of top-notch performance at its power plants, including the Susquehanna nuclear plant. Bob Byram's extensive experience — at Susquehanna and at fossil-fuel facilities — gives him a unique perspective to run our new generation operation," said Hecht.
"In addition, Byram's new position creates an opportunity for three very talented people in our nuclear organization to assume key executive management roles," said Hecht. "George Jones, George Kuczynski and Glenn Miller are seasoned nuclear professionals who have made major contributions to the success of Susquehanna. In their new positions, they will play an even more important role."
PP&L, which currently provides electricity service to 1.2 million customers in central and eastern Pennsylvania, is a subsidiary of PP&L Resources, Inc. Other PP&L Resources subsidiaries are Power Markets Development Co., an international power company; and Spectrum Energy Services Corp., which markets energy-related services and products.