Featured Speakers

Luncheon Keynote Speaker

Hon. Tony Clark
Commissioner
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Commissioner Tony Clark is serving his first term on the Commission, having been nominated by President Obama and sworn in on June 15, 2012. A Republican, he is serving out a five-year term that expires June 30, 2016. 

Commissioner Clark formerly served as a member of the North Dakota Public Service Commission, most recently as Chairman of the Commission. The office is a statewide elective office, and Commissioner Clark was first elected to the PSC in 2000. 

While at the North Dakota Commission, Commissioner Clark held the PSC portfolio on electric generation and transmission and was active in state and regional efforts to develop North Dakota’s vast energy exporting potential and to provide affordable, reliable energy to consumers. In his 12 years at the Commission, he oversaw regulatory proceedings that permitted more than $5.5 billion in new investment in North Dakota through expanded wind, coal and oil and gas infrastructure. At the same time North Dakota maintained its position as one of the lowest cost energy states in the nation, and continued its tradition of excellence in environmental protection. 

In November 2010, Commissioner Clark was elected by his peers across the nation to serve a one-year term as President of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), and led association efforts on matters of importance to the regulatory community and America’s utility consumers. He is a past Chairman of the NARUC Telecommunications Committee and has testified multiple times before Congress on matters related to telecommunications and energy. 

Prior to his election to the PSC, Commissioner Clark was North Dakota’s Labor Commissioner, serving in the cabinet of former Gov. Ed Schafer. He is a former state legislator, representing Fargo in the state House of Representatives from 1994-97. Commissioner Clark is a graduate, with honors, from North Dakota State University and he holds an MPA from the University of North Dakota. Having attained the rank of Eagle Scout as a youth, Commissioner Clark has maintained his involvement with and support of the Scouting program. He is a past Chairman of the Frontier Trails District of the BSA and a past Cubmaster of Pack 180 in Bismarck. Commissioner Clark and his wife, Amy, have three children.

Featured Speakers

Audrey Zibelman
Commissioner
NYS Public Service Commission
*scheduled to appear pending availability 

Ms. Zibelman is the Founder and Board Member of Viridity Energy, Inc., a company she formed after more than 25 years of electric utility industry leadership experience in both the public and private sectors. Ms. Zibelman is a recognized national and international expert in energy policy, markets, and Smart Grid innovation. Prior to forming Viridity, Ms. Zibelman was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of PJM, and she was responsible for all aspects of the Regional Transmission Organization's transmission planning, market grid operations and corporate administration.

Ms. Zibelman previously was an executive at Xcel Energy, Inc., where at various times she oversaw transmission operations and planning, energy market trading, risk management, fuel procurement and renewable energy development. She is a former General Counsel of the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission and Special Assistant Attorney General to the Minnesota Attorney General. She has participated as both counsel and expert witness in numerous electric utility proceedings before state and federal regulatory and legislative bodies on topics such as the benefits of power markets and Smart Grids to consumers. Ms. Zibelman also has served on the boards of organizations responsible for assuring the security and reliability of the nation's power system, including Reliability First, the GridWise Alliance, and the Midwest Reliability Organization.

Sergej Mahnovski
Director of Energy Policy
NYC Mayor’s Office

Sergej Mahnovski is the Director of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability (OLTPS), where he manages citywide energy policy and oversees the City’s comprehensive sustainability initiative, PlaNYC. Sergej has served as the point person for the City on energy policy since September 2010. In October 2012, Mayor Bloomberg appointed him Director of OLTPS, merging the City’s energy and sustainability teams.

Sergej leads as team of engineers, economists, policy analysts, architects, and attorneys that conduct innovative research and manage key program on energy and climate. The team received the 2013 Citizens Budget Commission Prize for Public Service Innovation for the Clean Heat program, which is improving air quality in NYC by phasing out heavy fuel oil through innovative financing and regulatory models. OLTPS also oversees research and implementation of key climate resilience initiatives, working closely with FEMA on updating flood maps for the city, and convening utilities, climate scientists, and engineers to assess the risks to critical infrastructure and evaluate cost effective mitigation measures.(MORE)

Susan F. Tierney
Managing Principal
Analysis Group

Dr. Tierney is an expert on energy policy and economics, specializing in the electric and gas industries. She has consulted to companies, governments, non-profits, and other organizations on energy markets, economic and environmental regulation and strategy, and energy facility projects. Her expert witness, business consulting, and arbitration services have involved industry restructuring, market analyses, regulatory policies for renewables and energy efficiency, transmission planning, siting and cost-allocation, wholesale and retail market design, contract disputes, resource planning, resource procurement analysis, market monitoring, and asset valuations.

In addition, Dr. Tierney’s work has covered regional transmission organizations, siting of generation and transmission facilities and natural gas pipeline projects, natural gas markets, electric system reliability, and environmental policy and regulation. (MORE)