Petra Solar’s Regulatory Chief Appointed to US DOE Electricity Advisory Committee

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Petra Solar, the world renowned clean tech company based in New Jersey, is pleased to announce that Petra Solar’s Chief of Regulatory Affairs Fred Butler, an internationally recognized authority on energy policy, has just been appointed to the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) Electricity Advisory Committee (EAC).
  
The 27 EAC members represent a diverse group that includes state government officials, industry executives, environmentalists, and consumer advocates. The EAC will provide advice to the DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability in carrying out its mission to modernize the nation’s electricity infrastructure, and in implementing the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

"We at Petra Solar are proud and pleased that Mr. Butler has been selected to be a member of this prestigious committee," said Dr. Shihab Kuran, President and Chief Executive Officer of Petra Solar. "Mr. Butler brings his unrivaled experience to the Electricity Advisory Committee, and we are confident that his knowledge from working with energy commissioners, regulatory commissioners, and utility leaders from around the globe will help guide the important work of the EAC. The entire nation will benefit from his expertise."

"I am honored to be on this committee with so many of the nation's experts in electricity policy, planning, and operations," said Mr. Butler. "I am greatly looking forward to working with the EAC on matters of critical importance to the DOE and the nation as we work to modernize the electricity grid, helping to enable a clean energy economy.”

“I hope to add value to the committee through my regulatory expertise as well as my first-hand experience engaging commercial entities with leading technologies in the renewable energy field and in enhanced grid functionality,” Mr. Butler added.

The EAC will make recommendations on a wide range of policy and technical issues that affect electricity delivery. These include challenges to smart grid deployments and integrating renewables into the grid; electricity-related research and development priorities; ways to enhance the benefits provided by the nation’s transmission infrastructure; coordination between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), state and regional officials and the private sector on matters affecting electricity supply, demand, and reliability, including response to energy supply disruptions; and emerging issues.

The EAC, originally established in 2008, published three reports in 2008 and early 2009 on electricity supply adequacy, smart grid implementation and energy storage technology development. Many recommendations from these reports were included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and are being implemented in DOE policies and programs under the Obama Administration.

Additional information on the EAC can be found at http://www.oe.energy.gov/eac.htm.

Fred Butler is a widely recognized industry leader among state energy commissioners, regulatory commissioners and utility executives around the world. Mr. Butler is a former member of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), where he served two terms and more than 10 years as a commissioner. During his tenure, he served as President of both the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (MACRUC). At NARUC he also was chairman of the organization’s International Relations Committee, Committee on Water, Ad Hoc Committee on Climate Change, and chaired the NARUC Smart Grid Collaborative. In addition, Mr. Butler won recognition as an advisor to the Michigan State University Institute of Public Utilities, the New Mexico State University Center for Public Utilities’ Advisory Council and the advisory council to the University of Florida’s Public Utilities Research Center.

In addition to his work as Chief of Regulatory Affairs at Petra Solar, Mr. Butler serves in various executive capacities within the energy field.