Nuclear Energy Industry Transitions

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has elected Bill Harper as vice president of strategic sourcing and operations support, effective Aug. 21. Harper currently is vice president and chief procurement officer for Rogers Communications Inc.

William Hecht, chairman and CEO of PPL Corp., will retire Oct. 1. James Miller, PPL president, will assume Hecht’s roles as well upon his retirement.

Progress Energy has named Bob Drennan to the new position of vice president of investor relations. Drennan joined Carolina Power & Light (now Progress Energy) in August 1983.

Constellation Energy has named Mark Huston chief operating officer of its retail subsidiary, Constellation NewEnergy. Huston previously served as vice president of electric transmission and distribution for Constellation utility Baltimore Gas and Electric. Stephen Woerner will replace him in that position.

John Barpoulis has been appointed senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer of USEC Inc. He had been acting CFO since February 2006 and vice president and treasurer since May 2005. He joined the company in March 2005.

Jim Ferland, president and CEO of Louisiana Energy Services (LES), is resigning at the end of September to take a position with a “leading nuclear energy company located in the easter United States,” according to the company. Ferland has been with LES since 2003.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has appointed four program office directors as part of the agency’s reorganization.
• Bill Borchardt will become director of the Office of New Reactors when it is officially established in January. He currently is deputy director of the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response.
• Jim Dyer, currently director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, will remain in that post.
• Charles Miller will become director of the new Office of National Materials Program in October. He currently directs the division of industrial and medical nuclear safety, part of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS).
• Jack Strosnider Jr. will continue as director of NMSS.

The NRC also named Daniel Rich senior resident inspector at the Oconee nuclear power plant in South Carolina. He previously served in the same role at Nuclear Fuel Services in Tennessee.

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