As part of the organizational effectiveness phase of its five-year strategic plan, the California Independent System Operator (California ISO) has created a division that blends two previously separate divisions that focused on market development and infrastructure planning.
The goal is to achieve more effective infrastructure planning through the use of efficient markets. The California ISO appointed Laura Manz as vice president to lead the market and infrastructure development division.
Manz was selected by the California ISO because of her intimate knowledge of power system planning, engineering, and market development and operations, which has earned a place of distinction within the electricity industry.
She comes from San Diego Gas & Electric, where she served as director of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and California ISO regulatory affairs for the utility. Manz has been at the forefront of California's progress toward planning for a stronger grid through transmission investment and has worked toward leveling the playing field for renewable and demand response resources, while helping deploy new reliability standards.
Manz began her electricity career in the early 1980s at Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), based in Newark, New Jersey. Her areas of responsibility over the years covered transmission planning, market design, regional integration, retail restructuring, maintenance standards, power purchasing, emergency response, and power plant and system operations. Manz received a degree in electrical engineering from Lafayette College and an MBA from Drexel University.
SOURCE: California Independent System Operator
