Two Industry Experts Join MISO's Government and Regulatory Affairs Team

CARMEL, Ind., Aug. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- MISO announced today that two industry experts are joining the regional transmission organization's Government and Regulatory Affairs team. Rob Berntsen, former Chair of the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB), has been appointed MISO's Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs, Midwest Region, and Darlene Phillips was named to lead the organization's Issues Management efforts.

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Rob Berntsen, Vice President of Government & Regulatory Affairs, Midwest Region

Mr. Berntsen will serve as MISO's primary liaison with the governors and state regulatory and legislative policymakers in the MISO region. A dedicated public servant, Mr. Berntsen was appointed a Member and Chair of the IUB in May 2009 and served as Chair until April 2011.  While serving on the IUB, Mr. Berntsen was a Board Member and Secretary for the Organization of MISO States (OMS), the non-profit regulatory committee for states served by MISO. He also was Iowa's designee on the Eastern Interconnection States' Planning Council (EISPC) as well as one of EISPC's representatives to the Eastern Interconnection Planning Collaborative's (EIPC) Stakeholder Steering Committee (SSC), and was a Member of the Electricity Committee of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). Prior to joining the Iowa Board, Mr. Berntsen worked as corporate counsel for Vectren Corporation, one of MISO's founding transmission-owning members.  He also served in the U.S. Army JAG Corps and in 2005 was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  Mr. Berntsen earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Iowa and a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgetown University.

"Year-after-year MISO demonstrates its ability to provide value-added services for its members and the customers they serve through a transparent and dynamic stakeholder process," Berntsen said. "I look forward to joining MISO and welcome the opportunity to continue working with state legislative and regulatory policymakers to address the critical energy issues in our region."  

Darlene Phillips, Consulting Advisor, Issues Management

Ms. Phillips comes to the Government and Regulatory Affairs team from MISO's Operations Division, where she served as Director of Market Operations Planning, overseeing the Market Advisory Committee and divisional planning activities.  Prior to joining MISO in 2004, Ms. Phillips, a former control room engineer, worked as a management consultant for Arthur Anderson, LLC in its National Energy Business Consulting Practice, where she was instrumental in MISO start-up and market launch activities. She is a licensed attorney in the State of Indiana, and holds a Juris Doctorate from Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis; a Master of Business Administration, and Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering, from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

In her new role, one of Ms. Phillips' responsibilities will be to take her market operations expertise and synthesize MISO's complex business functions to assist external parties in better understanding MISO's highly technical market and transmission operations.

"I am thrilled to be a part of MISO's Government and Regulatory Affairs Team," said Ms. Phillips. "My entire career has been in the energy industry in both technical and business capacities. With this new role, I have the opportunity to leverage my industry knowledge by providing MISO-specific education and information to internal and external audiences."

Mr. Berntsen and Ms. Phillips will report directly to Aldie Warnock, Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs. "With the combined talents of Rob and Darlene, MISO has a wealth of knowledge to further demonstrate MISO's value proposition to our policymakers, our members and the customers they serve," Warnock said.  

About MISO

MISO ensures reliable operation of, and equal access to high-voltage power lines in 12 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Manitoba. MISO manages one of the world's largest energy markets, clearing more than $27 billion in energy transactions in 2010. MISO was approved as the nation's first regional transmission organization in 2001. The non-profit 501(C)(4) organization is governed by an independent Board of Directors and is headquartered in Carmel, Ind., with operations centers in Carmel and St. Paul, Minn. Membership in the organization is voluntary.

SOURCE MISO