NYPA President Zeltmann Re-Elected EPRI Chairman

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May 31, 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           

ALBANY—Eugene W. Zeltmann, president and chief executive officer of the New York Power Authority, has been re-elected to a second one-year term as chairman of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the power industry’s international research and technology organization.

Zeltmann’s term on EPRI’s 32-member Board of Directors, which began in 2001, was also extended for a year.  He was originally nominated to the board by the American Public Power Association and occupies a seat designated for the public-power sector.

 “I look forward to continuing my work with EPRI at a time of critical importance for the electric power industry in this country and worldwide,” Zeltmann said. “The challenge of balancing growing energy needs and environmental concerns has never been greater.  EPRI is uniquely positioned to meet that challenge and to provide major benefits to the industry and to society.”

EPRI members account for more than 90 percent of the electricity produced in the United States.

Zeltmann’s tenure as chairman has been marked by a number of major EPRI initiatives, including programs to create a more reliable and versatile power transmission system by using advanced computer technology and to promote coal gasification and other technologies that will combat global warming.

In his full-time post at the Power Authority, the nation’s largest state-owned electric utility, Zeltmann has presided over various collaborative efforts with EPRI.  These have included installation at the Authority’s Marcy Substation near Utica of a convertible static compensator, the world’s most advanced device for controlling voltage and power flows on transmission lines.

The two organizations also worked together to develop a pioneering system for instantly detecting problems in generators at hydroelectric plants.  They are now participating in a program to demonstrate DaimlerChrysler’s Sprinter van, a hybrid utility vehicle that will plug into the power grid and will use electricity to run, emission-free, for up to 20 miles between battery charges.

In addition to serving as EPRI chairman, Zeltmann is co-chairman of the Electric Drive Transportation Association and vice chairman of the Large Public Power Council, an organization of the nation’s largest public power utilities.

Zeltmann came to the Power Authority in 1997 as president and chief operating officer and was named to his current position in 2002.  He previously had been appointed in 1995 by Gov. George E. Pataki to serve as a commissioner of the New York State Public Service Commission and was named the PSC’s deputy chairman the following year.

In more than 25 years as an executive with the General Electric Co., Zeltmann served in senior management positions related to energy and environmental trade issues, market-development and communications programs, and operational and environmental planning.

He graduated with honors from Beloit College and earned a master of arts degree and doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in physical chemistry.

Zeltmann and his wife, Susan, have two children, Laura and John, and live in Clifton Park, N.Y.