US Grid Company (USGRDCO)

Dear Friends,

I am writing to let you know that, effective January 1,  I have left Akin Gump and the practice of law in order to create a new company in the electric power distribution business. The company, US Grid Company (USGRDCO),  is focused on strengthening the reliability, resilience, cybersecurity, efficiency and renewable integration of the nation’s electric distribution system.

I will be creating this company with two cofounders – Ray Gogel , former Chief Information Officer, Chief Administrative Officer and President of  Customer and Enterprise Solutions of Xcel Energy, and David Mohler, who served as Chief Technology Officer of Duke Energy, among other senior roles – as well as other senior professionals in the system design, project management and finance areas.

Our objective in forming USGRDCO is to transform today’s power delivery system by paving the way to the utility of the future in a way that customers can afford and that protects the utilities’ financial health so that they can serve the needs of all segments of society.

In particular, USGRDCO will focus on:

1.       Financing and ownership of distribution system improvements through innovative ownership and financing structures that will facilitate the making and regulatory approval of the investments required to strengthen the distribution system.
2.       Design and implementation of the system upgrades needed to resolve the challenges to the nation’s electric distribution system and to provide greater physical and cyber-security reliability, greater certainty of system performance, and cost and operating efficiencies that lead to lower costs.
3.       Commercial development of reliability resources, including micro-grids, energy storage for grid management and stability, micro-turbines and energy efficiency and demand side management.
4.       Investment in excellent grid companies.
5.       Regulatory, legislative, executive and public advocacy in support of policies to strengthen the nation’s electric distribution system infrastructure and to help create the utility model of the future.

I can be reached at:

Jacob J. Worenklein

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

US Grid Company (USGRDCO)

1177 Avenue of the Americas, 5^th Floor

New York, NY 10036

jworenklein@usgrdco.com

917-969-9422

My best wishes to each of you. I look forward to staying in touch.

Jay