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GridLiance Appoints J. Calvin Crowder President, South Central Region

GridLiance today announced that J. Calvin Crowder has joined the Company as President of South Central Region, which includes the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) South parts of Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana; Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT); and New Mexico. Mr. Crowder oversees the region’s business development activities, including establishing new partnerships with municipal, cooperative and joint action agency utilities (collectively, Public Power); sourcing transmission asset acquisitions; and recruiting top business development talent. Based in Austin, Texas, Mr. Crowder is a member of GridLiance’s executive team, dedicated to working with Public Power partners to solve their decades-long exclusion from transmission ownership opportunities.

Mr. Crowder brings twenty-five years of electric utility industry experience, including expertise developing long-term expansion and regulatory and legislative approval plans as well as strong relationships with RTO officials and state and federal regulators. Previously, Mr. Crowder served in roles of increasing responsibility at American Electric Power (AEP), one of the largest electric utilities in the U.S., serving nearly 5.4 million customers in 11 states. Most recently, Mr. Crowder served as Executive Director, Electric Transmission Texas, LLC (ETT) for AEP and President of ETT, where he led the establishment of AEP’s first transmission joint venture and its growth to $3 billion in assets. Mr. Crowder also led negotiations on a $4.9 billion ERCOT CREZ transmission expansion plan, securing a $1.5 billion investment for ETT. During his tenure at AEP, Mr. Crowder also led the RTO and Public Policy team, which was responsible for the development and advocacy of policy positions across an 11-state AEP footprint.

“Calvin is a highly-regarded electric utility industry executive who brings an in-depth understanding of the utility business, collaborative management style and excellent relationships with RTO officials as well as state and federal regulators,” said Ed Rahill, GridLiance’s President and CEO. “His proven ability to identify, plan and win regulatory approval for large-scale transmission projects will be invaluable to GridLiance as we accelerate our strategy of partnering with Public Power to ensure customers receive reliable and cost-effective transmission service.”

“I am thrilled to join the talented GridLiance team as we work to expand the Company’s innovative partnership model,” said Mr. Crowder. “GridLiance is uniquely positioned to provide its Public Power partners with the scale and expertise needed to invest in regulated transmission projects as well as the support to increase reliability and cost efficiency for their customers. I look forward to working closely with the management and regional leadership teams to expand our network of Public Power partners and improve the reliability of electric service to their customers.”

Prior to AEP, Mr. Crowder held a variety of executive and policy leadership roles at Central and South West Corporation (CSW), including Director, Restructuring Support Team and Director, Regulatory Services. During his time at CSW, Mr. Crowder played a critical role in helping to integrate CSW following its $14 billion merger with AEP, including working closely with management to develop and execute regulatory policies and plans for corporate restructuring. Mr. Crowder began his career in the electric utility industry at Central Power and Light Company in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he served as a regulatory analyst. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and his master’s degree in regulatory economics from New Mexico State University.

About GridLiance GP, LLC

Incorporated in 2014, GridLiance GP, LLC, which is backed by Blackstone Energy Partners, an affiliate of Blackstone (NYSE:BX), is the nation’s first competitive transmission company focused on collaborating with Public Power. Through its subsidiary transmission companies formed to operate in each RTO, GridLiance will jointly plan, develop, own and operate transmission assets with Public Power. GridLiance’s mission is to provide its Public Power partners with opportunities to invest in regulated transmission development projects, enabling the utilities to earn margins from regionally-funded projects to offset transmission rate increases, as well as receive other benefits, including lower energy costs and increased reliability for their customers, while providing greater access to renewable energy sources. GridLiance has offices in Kansas City, Missouri; Chicago, Illinois; Austin, Texas; and Washington D.C. GridLiance seeks to establish long-term agreements with all interested Public Power utilities. It currently has co-development agreements with the Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission (MJMEUC), Tri-County Electric Cooperative (TCEC) and the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA), operating within MISO and SPP through its subsidiaries, South Central MCN, LLC and Midcontinent MCN, LLC, respectively. To learn more, please visit www.gridliance.com.

Contacts:

GridLiance Media:
Sard Verbinnen & Co
Jenny Gore, 312-895-4700
or
Elisa Pandolfi/Leah Polito, 415-618-8750
or
GridLiance Business:
development@gridliance.com

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