2019 SEPA Grid Evolution Summit

Arlen Orchard, who previously served as SMUD’s General Counsel, was named Chief Executive Officer and General Manager in April, 2014. He reports to the SMUD Board of Directors. As CEO, he leads the sixth largest community-owned electric utility in the nation serving a population of 1.5 million residents and managing a $1.6 billion budget. Orchard serves on the boards of directors of the American Public Power Association and the Northwest Public Power Association; and on the boards of directors and executive committees of the California Municipal Utilities Association and the Large Public Power Council. He also serves on the boards of directors of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, Valley Vision, WEAVE (Women Escaping a Violent Environment), and the Greater Sacramento Area Economic Council. Orchard frequently speaks on issues impacting the electric utility industry. He received a juris doctorate degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law, a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Nevada, Reno, and attended UCD’s Graduate School of Management.

Colette is a member of Reed Smith’s Energy and Natural Resources Group resident in the Washington, D.C. office. Colette is a highly regarded thought leader and practitioner in domestic and international energy sectors. Colette recently served as Commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). She was nominated by President Barack Obama in August 2014, and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December 2014 for a term that expired in June 2017. At FERC, Honorable focused on reliability oversight of the bulk power system, cyber and physical security, oversight of wholesale markets, transmission planning and cost allocation in regional transmission organizations, gas-electric coordination, renewables integration, energy storage integration and valuation, enforcement, ratemaking, infrastructure development, and enforcement matters. Colette joined the FERC from the Arkansas Public Service Commission (PSC), where she served since October 2007, and led as Chairman from January 2011-January 2015.

Jennifer M. Potter was appointed to the Public Utilities Commission by Governor Ige in March 2018 for a term to expire June 30, 2024.

Commissioner Potter was previously a faculty member at the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI), an independent research institute within the University of Hawaii, where she conducted research on demand response, Distributed Energy Resource (DERs) technologies, locational benefits of DERs, and energy efficiency.

Prior to joining HNEI, Commissioner Potter was a Sr. Scientific Engineering Associate in the Electricity Market and Policy group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where she was the project lead on the 2025 California Demand Response Potential Study for the California Public Utilities Commission. During her tenure, she conducted a number of studies on demand response and integrated demand side management for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Commissioner Potter previously worked at Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) as the Project Manager on SMUD’s SmartSacramento team working on the Department of Energy’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funded Consumer Behavior Study, known as SmartPricing Options pricing pilot. While at SMUD, she also worked as the Customer Strategy Planner for residential and small commercial EE and DR programs, as well as serving as the Enterprise Performance Data Manager. Commissioner Potter also worked as the Principal Market Analyst in the Pricing and Resource Planning department at SMUD.

Prior to her time at SMUD, Commissioner Potter worked at City of Roseville, Roseville Electric, as the principal load and revenue forecaster, load researcher, and business analyst for the utility.

Commissioner Potter holds a Master of Science in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Economics from Southern Oregon University.