ERCOT hires new CEO

ERCOT announced it has hired Pablo Vegas, a utility executive who lives in Ohio, will be the new leader of Texas’ main power grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

Vegas becomes ERCOT’s first permanent chief executive in 16 months, since former CEO Bill Magness was fired in the aftermath of the February 2021 winter storm which left millions of Texans without power for days.

Texas politicians criticized ERCOT’s board of directors because some of them did not reside in Texas, and many of them resigned. At the time, a bipartisan state lawmakers expressed frustration and disbelief that many ERCOT board members, despite extensive energy industry expertise, lived outside the state.

Now, once again, a non-Texan will lead the state’s main power grid.

Vegas is executive vice president of Indiana-based NiSource Inc., and group president of the company’s utilities which delivers natural gas to approximately 3.1 million customers across six states and electricity to about 470,000 customers in Indiana, according to the company.

Vegas, born in Peru, worked as president and chief operating officer for transmission company AEP Texas from 2008 to 2010, has held a variety of other senior executive roles at AEP in addition to his two-year stint at the company’s Texas branch. AEP, which provides power to more than 5 million customers across 11 states, is based in Columbus, Ohio, where Vegas lives with his family.

Vegas will start on Oct. 1 and will be paid a base salary of $990,00 annually, according to his contract, which was approved by ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission. On top of the base salary, ERCOT will also pay Vegas $6.68 million over six years, and Vegas could reach a variety of payment- incentive benchmarks that could increase his pay even more.

Magness told lawmakers he had earned $803,000 annually. Brad Jones, ERCOT’s interim CEO who was hired to the temporary position after the catastrophe but did not plan to stay on the job this long, earns $500,000 annually, according to his contract. Jones will also receive a one-time lump sum of $169,640 when he receives his final paycheck from ERCOT.