PG&E Appoints Industry Expert Wade Smith to Lead Electric Operations
April 14 2021 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Former American Electric Power Leader Brings
30-Year Track Record of Providing Safe, Reliable Electric
Service
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today announced the
appointment of Wade Smith as Senior Vice President, Electric
Operations. Mr. Smith begins on May 3, 2021 and will report to Adam
Wright, PG&E’s Executive Vice President, Operations and Chief
Operating Officer, who joined the company earlier this year.
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Wade Smith, Senior Vice President,
Electric Operations, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (Photo:
Business Wire)
“Wade brings the ideal skillset and background to help us
deliver safe and reliable energy for our customers and hometowns.
He is a proven leader with extensive electric operations expertise
and industry knowledge. On top of that, he brings a big heart and a
strong passion for people. I am confident Wade will hit the ground
running and advance our efforts to become a better and safer energy
company,” said Mr. Wright.
Mr. Smith will be responsible for PG&E’s electric
transmission and distribution operations and maintenance, as well
as emergency preparedness and response efforts. While his primary
focus will be on executing the work needed to serve customers and
maintain PG&E’s electric grid on a day-to-day basis, Mr. Smith
will also work in close coordination with PG&E’s new Wildfire
Risk Organization, set up to ensure all wildfire mitigation work is
executed consistently and effectively.
PG&E has made several key additions to its leadership team
this year, bringing in proven leaders with significant energy,
transformation, operations and safety experience.
“I am honored to join PG&E at such an important time for the
company. I’ve spent the past three decades in the energy industry,
and I wholeheartedly believe in the power of operational excellence
to fundamentally strengthen a company for the long term. I’m
looking forward to bringing my experience to PG&E and locking
arms with the rest of the PG&E team to deliver results for our
customers and the communities we serve,” said Mr. Smith.
Mr. Smith has over 30 years of comprehensive operations and
financial management experience in the utility industry. He spent
the past three decades at American Electric Power (AEP), serving in
various leadership roles. AEP is one of the largest utilities in
the U.S., serving over 5 million customers across 11 states.
Most recently, Mr. Smith was Senior Vice President, Grid
Development, overseeing transmission planning, engineering, project
management, construction and system operations teams. In this role,
Mr. Smith executed AEP’s $20 billion transmission capital
investment program and led efforts to improve reliability and
increase operational efficiency in overseeing a 40,000-mile
transmission system. He also brings experience in asset management
and effective work prioritization, including managing R&D
programs focused on new technologies and developing safe, reliable
and compliant policies and procedures.
Previously, Mr. Smith served as President and Chief Operating
Officer for AEP Texas; Vice President, Transmission Engineering and
Project Services for AEP Service Corporation; and Director, Gas
Turbine and Joint Venture Operations for AEP Service Corporation;
among other operations and engineering roles at the company.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E
Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric
utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square
miles in Northern and Central California. For more information,
visit pge.com and pge.com/news.
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