PJM Membership Elects Two PJM Board Members

Robert Ethier and Le Xie Elected To Serve Three-Year Terms

VALLEY FORGE, Pa., Sept. 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- PJM Interconnection has announced today that its members have elected Robert Ethier and Le Xie to serve three-year terms on the PJM Board of Managers.

The process for electing Board members is set forth in the FERC-approved PJM Operating Agreement and is controlled by an eight-person Nominating Committee that nominates candidates to the membership of PJM to be voted upon. The Nominating Committee comprises one representative elected annually from each one of the five sectors of the PJM Members Committee and three members of the Board, one of whom is the non-voting chair.

Their terms are effective immediately, and they join Matthew "Matt" Nelson as a recent addition, who was elected to the PJM Board in May.

Robert "Bob" Ethier has over 30 years of experience in electricity markets, market operations, and planning. A long-time executive at ISO New England, his roles have included vice president of market development, vice president of market operations and vice president of system planning, as well as director of market monitoring and chief economist. He is currently a principal at Stickney Brook Consulting, working as an advisor to the New England States Committee on Electricity and other groups on planning and market design issues. Before joining ISO New England, he was an energy-sector consultant focused on the development of asset valuation models.

Ethier has a B.A. in economics from Yale University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in resource economics from Cornell University.

Le Xie is the Gordon McKay Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, where he cofounded and leads the Power and AI Initiative. His research focuses on the intersection of artificial intelligence and power systems, advancing sustainable and efficient energy solutions. An IEEE Fellow and Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES), Xie has worked extensively with ERCOT, ISO-New England and utilities on electricity markets, grid operations and data-driven system planning. He is a senior editor of IEEE Transactions on Power Systems and founding chair of the IEEE PES Big Data & Analytics Subcommittee. Prior to Harvard, he served on the faculty at Texas A&M University, where he was recognized as a Presidential Impact Fellow. Xie received the NSF CAREER Award, the IEEE PES Outstanding Young Engineer Award, and multiple university teaching and research honors.

Xie holds a B.E. in electrical engineering from Tsinghua University, an S.M. in engineering sciences from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.

"Bob and Le were nominated from a robust pool of candidates based on their deep expertise and experience in the electricity sector and all of its facets," said Board Chair David Mills. "I welcome them and am confident in their ability to help guide the organization through a very dynamic time."

PJM Interconnection, founded in 1927, ensures the reliability of the high-voltage electric power system serving 67 million people in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. PJM coordinates and directs the operation of the region's transmission grid, which includes 88,333 miles of transmission lines; administers a competitive wholesale electricity market; and plans regional transmission expansion improvements to maintain grid reliability and relieve congestion. PJM's regional grid and market operations produce annual savings of $3.2 billion to $4 billion. For the latest news about PJM, visit PJM Inside Lines at insidelines.pjm.com.

SOURCE PJM Interconnection