NASEO facilitates state collaboration and sharing of best practices on all matters pertaining to the electricity sector. NASEO members collaborate to identify pressing electricity issues and explore innovative program and policy design for transmission and distribution planning, the use and integration of clean generation resources on the distribution and bulk power-level,  interdependencies with other sectors (oil and natural gas, water, transportation, buildings etc.), as well as building a resilient electricity system. NASEO’s electricity program aims to support states and their partners in addressing the changing electricity landscape, support the key strategic role that state energy offices play in the electricity sector, and improve states’ understanding of the electricity sector.​​

State Energy Offices play a myriad of roles in the electricity sector. In most states, State Energy Offices have been designated the state lead-agency for grid resilience activities with utilities. State Energy Offices engage in transmission and distribution planning utilizing U.S. State Energy Program funding. State Energy Offices also conduct studies, convene stakeholder processes, and implement programs that inform and contribute to the electricity sector. Many State Energy Offices also engage formally or informally in proceedings before their respective public utility commissions. 

Staff Contacts

Kirsten Verclas Kirsten Verclas Senior Managing Director

Kirsten Verclas

Senior Managing Director

Kirsten Verclas leads NASEO's electricity program, which informs and educates the states on issues related to generation, transmission, and distribution. She also leads NASEO's work on grid resilience. She serves as a member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity’s Electricity Advisory Committee, where she is the Vice Chair of the Smart Grid Subcommittee. Prior to NASEO, Ms. Verclas was an ORISE Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy, where she worked on clean energy, state and local energy policy, cybersecurity issues and emergency response. She also served as a Program Manager in the International Department of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) working on regulatory partnerships in Africa, as well as a Senior Program Manager at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) at Johns Hopkins University. Ms. Verclas has written extensively on energy and climate as well as security policy in the transatlantic context. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Franklin and Marshall College, a Master of Arts in International Relations from The George Washington University, and a Master of Science in Energy Policy and Climate from Johns Hopkins University.

Catherine Reed Catherine Reed Senior Program Director

Catherine Reed

Senior Program Director

Catherine Reed supports NASEO's Electricity program, which informs and educates the states and territories on issues related to generation, transmission, and distribution. Prior to joining NASEO, she served as Deputy Director of the State Energy Office in the South Carolina Office of Regulatory Staff.  This was her second tenure with the South Carolina Energy Office, having first worked there between 2007 and 2012, implementing a range of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs through various federal grants, including the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. She also had experience working in the private sector on the design and implementation of commercial and industrial demand side management programs for an investor-owned utility. She has more than 20 years of combined experience in energy programs, resource conservation and management, public policy and planning, and stakeholder engagement.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a Master of Public Administration from the University of South Carolina.

Kelsey Jones Kelsey Jones Program Director

Kelsey Jones

Program Director

Kelsey Jones supports NASEO's electricity program by conducting research and analysis on a variety of state electricity policy and program issues including energy storage, microgrids, carbon management, and hydrogen. Prior to NASEO, Ms. Jones worked at the Nuclear Energy Institute assisting the political affairs and advocacy programs and as a graduate research assistant studying renewable energy development in Arctic cities. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Florida and a Master of Environmental Resource Policy from the George Washington University.

  • Co-Chair, Hawaii
    Christopher Yunker, Hawaii State Energy Office
  • Co-Chair, New Mexico
    Jacqueline Waite, New Mexico Energy Conservation and Management Division
  • Co-Chair, Synapse Energy Economics
    Asa Hopkins, PhD, Synapse Energy Economics, Inc.
  • Connecticut
    Eric Annes, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
  • Maryland
    Eric Coffman, Maryland Energy Administration
  • Oregon
    Edith Bayer, Oregon Department of Energy
  • Colorado
    James Lester, Colorado Energy Office
  • Minnesota
    Peter Teigland, Minnesota Department of Commerce

NASEO runs a bi-weekly NASEO Electricity Committee Newsletter, featuring a list of NASEO’s electricity-related in-person events, virtual events, and opportunities to be aware of for the coming weeks. If you would like to be added to the mailing list, please reach out to Camille Norton (cnorton@naseo.org). 

NASEO Electricity Committee: CTC Global and Google's Partnership to Deploy Advanced Conductors
July 7, 2025
  • NASEO convened a NASEO Electricity Committee webinar providing an overview of CTC Global and Google's recently announced initiative to expand U.S. electric grid and transmission capacity through the deployment of advanced conductors. CTC Global’s Theodore Paradise, Chief Policy and Grid Strategy Officer, and Google’s Kaitlin Savage, Energy Market Development, shared their perspectives on data center energy solutions, an overview of ACCC technology, and a summary of their recently released Request for Information (RFI).
  • Click here to view the recording. 
NASEO Electricity Committee: Best Practices in Integrated Resource Planning: A Guide for Planners Developing the Electricity Resource Mix of the Future
January 6, 2025
  • The NASEO Electricity Committee convened a webinar on the most recent report from Synapse Energy Economics and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Best Practices in Integrated Resource Planning: A Guide for Planners Developing the Electricity Resource Mix of the Future. Electricity planning needs have changed in recent years. Emerging load growth, power plant retirements, rising costs, and more extreme weather events are challenging utility planning processes across the country. In the report, Synapse Energy Economics and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory offer best practices for Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) in the evolving U.S electricity sector. This webinar featured a presentation of the report and a discussion with the authors on implications for State Energy Offices.
  • Click here to view the recording. 
NASEO Electricity Committee: Advanced Grid Solutions: Tools to Enhance the Existing Grid
October 7, 2024
NASEO Electricity Committee: Demand Growth and Implications for State Planning
July 8, 2024
NASEO Virtual Roundtable on Electric Grid Sensor Technologies for Resilience and Affordability
April 2024
NASEO-ACORE Webinar: Exploring Offshore Wind and Transmission Planning
May 2023
  • NASEO and the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) hosted a webinar to explore the transmission needs associated with offshore wind development and to provide state-level perspectives on these important topics. Joe DeLosa from the Brattle Group presented an overview of the findings from a recently released report on The Benefit and Urgency of Planned Offshore Transmission, which was commissioned by ACORE along with American Clean Power Association, the Clean Air Task Force, GridLab, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Celina Cunningham, Deputy Director of Maine Governor’s Energy Office, provided an overview of Maine’s initiatives in this space, including their work with the Maine Offshore Wind Roadmap, the Northern Maine Renewable Energy Development Program, and the New England Regional Transmission Initiative.

  • Click here to view the recording. 

NASEO-NARUC DER Integration and Compensation Initiative Webinar: Grid Modernization Strategies to Accelerate Deployment of DERs
April 2023
  • States have been conducting grid modernization studies to identify pathways for updating interconnection processes, enhancing hosting capacity, and understanding the role of distributed energy resources (DERs). A comprehensive understanding of the connection, operation, and compensation of DERs is crucial to the activities of State Energy Offices and Public Utility Commissions. As part of the NARUC-NASEO Distributed Energy Resources Integration and Compensation Initiative, this webinar featured Lisa Schwartz of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) sharing a national perspective on trends and challenges states are facing when examining and seeking to accelerate DER deployment in the context of grid modernization. Paul Heitmann with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities discussed New Jersey’s process for developing the recently released New Jersey Grid Modernization Study, recommendations from the study, and plans for implementation.
  • Click here to view the recording. 
NASEO Electricity Committee: Innovative Technologies to Support a Resilient Transmission System
August 2022
  • States and territories are implementing several of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provisions to enhance the resilience and reliability of the U.S. electricity system. Reconductoring existing transmission power lines with advanced conductors can provide one cost-effective and efficient way to reduce sag, integrate additional renewable resources, and reduce power loss. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in its current Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, is also investigating transmission technology innovations. This NASEO webinar was an opportunity for states and territories to hear from and ask questions of experts on reconductoring and grid-enhancing technologies.

  • Click here to view the recording. 

NASEO-NARUC Webinar: Grid Investments for FERC Order 2022
January 2022
  • To implement FERC Order 2222, state and federal policy makers and regulators are evaluating and determining whether and where to establish new rules and requirements as well as enabling policies to bring both distributed energy resources (DERs) and their aggregations onto the electricity system safely, fairly, and reliably. Underpinning these decisions are the technological requirements for enabling DER aggregation. As part of the NASEO-NARUC Distributed Energy Resources Integration and Compensation Initiative, this webinar highlighted a new report on this topic being developed by the GridWise Alliance. Modeled after their recently released Technology Portfolio Report, the report will be a resource for stakeholders interested in understanding what specific types of grid technologies and investments are needed for the implementation of FERC Order 2222.
  • Click here to view the recording.