The Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA) is the national voice for America’s competitive power suppliers that bring you about 150,000 MW of reliable, efficient electricity from traditional and renewable resources and technologies – from reliable natural gas-powered and nuclear generation to wind, solar, and cutting-edge battery storage facilities. Our member companies operate in regions with access to competitive wholesale electricity markets, governed by Independent System Operators (ISOs) and Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs): New England, New York, the Mid-Atlantic, the Midwest, Texas, the Southwest, and California.

With demand for electricity rising rapidly, we share the belief that open, transparent wholesale competitive electricity markets are the best way to achieve reliable, least-cost energy today while unlocking the power of competition to spur innovation. We are building the grid of the future.

EPSA works to share our members’ priorities and accomplishments with policymakers, regulatory agencies, and stakeholders at every level—from the White House and Congress to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, to the Supreme Court, to state legislatures and utility commissions.

We do so because we know that competitive wholesale power markets are the most effective tool to achieve our nation’s shared goals: reliable power, a strong economy, and a cleaner future.

As we look to solve the competing challenges of providing reliable, cost-effective, and cleaner electricity, we are actively engaged in policy, regulatory, and market discussions to find improved pathways to power America’s energy expansion.

Learn more and follow along by visiting epsa.org subscribing to the monthly newsletter, listening to our Energy Solutions podcast, or joining the conversation on social media.

Melanie Kenderdine joined former Secretary of Energy Ernest J. Moniz and fellow Principal Joseph S. Hezir in founding Energy Futures Initiative (EFI), a non-profit organization dedicated to driving innovation in energy technology, policy, and business models.

Kenderdine worked in the Administration of President Barack Obama at the Department of Energy (DOE) from May 2013–January 2017. She served concurrently as Energy Counselor to the Secretary and as the Director of DOE’s Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis.

Her 100-person office was responsible for analysis and policy development in areas that included: DOE’s role in the annual review of the Renewable Fuel Standard Program requirements, energy innovation, and climate change. Her office produced two installments of the Quadrennial Energy Review and helped conceive and develop the Energy Security Principles adopted by G-7 leaders in 2014. In her capacity as Energy Counselor to the Secretary, Kenderdine helped create Mission Innovation, now a 24-country/European Union initiative that supports transformational clean energy RD&D; North American grid integration and security; and the modernization of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Prior to her service at DOE, Kenderdine helped establish the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) and served there as Executive Director. During her six-year tenure at MITEI, she managed a large research and administrative staff, was a key contributor of MIT’s Future of Natural Gas Study, the MITEI Symposium Report on Alternative Fuels and Vehicles and edited the MIT Future of the Electric Grid study. Kenderdine also started the C3E Symposium series, a joint MIT-DOE program to support the careers of women in clean energy with cash prizes; she still serves as a DOE C3E Ambassador.

Before joining MITEI, she was Vice President of Washington Operations for the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) from 2001 to 2007. While at GTI, Kenderdine established a separate not-for-profit company, the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA). As RPSEA’s first CEO, she transformed it from an MOU between GTI and one university, to an industry/academic unconventional natural gas research consortium of 26 universities and 30 industry partners. Concurrently, she was a key architect of the Royalty Trust Fund, the only federal trust fund dedicated to energy R&D.

From 1993 to 2001, Kenderdine was an appointee in President Bill Clinton’s administration, where she served in several key posts at DOE, including Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary, Bill Richardson, Director of the Office of Policy, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs. She was a primary architect of the SPR oil exchange of 2000, the creation of the Northeast

Howard Gugel is the vice president of Compliance Assurance and Registration at NERC. In this role, he is responsible directing programs and processes to monitor, review, and evaluate program effectiveness of Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) Enterprise implementation of risk-based compliance monitoring and adherence to the NERC Rules of Procedure, Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program, and approved delegation agreements. He is also responsible for overseeing the ERO’s organization registration and certification process.

Prior to this, he was vice president of Engineering and Standards at NERC. In this role, he provided engineering analysis and support for NERC activities and directed all aspects of NERC’s continent-wide standards development process by providing oversight, guidance, coordination, and industry education of the development of Reliability Standards. He also previously served as the director of Performance Analysis, where he was responsible for the development, maintenance, and analysis of reliability performance metrics, including those in NERC’s annual State of Reliability report. This included analyzing various databases of transmission and generations outages to look for statistically significant trends.

In 2022, Mr. Gugel was appointed to the Department of Energy’s Electric Advisory Committee by the Secretary of Energy. He also serves on the North American Energy Standards Board. Mr. Gugel has more than 34 years of experience in the electric utility industry. Prior to joining NERC, he was a transmission area maintenance manager for Progress Energy Florida, where he managed a staff of field personnel who maintained transmission lines and substation equipment. Prior to that, he was a transmission planning manager, also for Progress Energy Florida. His background includes management experience in operations and energy marketing. He has worked for two investor-owned utilities, a rural electric cooperative, and an energy marketing firm.

Mr. Gugel earned his bachelor’s and master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Missouri – Rolla. He is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Missouri.