Commercial electricity customers will get more presence among Ontario consumer groups when two new appointees join the Independent Electricity System Operator’s (IESO) stakeholder advisory committee this spring. Bala Gnanam, vice president, energy, environment and advocacy, with the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Greater Toronto and Agnieszka Wloch, vice president, development, with Minto Communities Canada, have been named to the 17-member committee tasked with providing policy-level advice to the IESO board of directors and senior executive.
The committee meets a minimum of six times annually to receive briefings and provide feedback on IESO activities related to market development, conservation and electricity planning. It is broadly structured to give voice to five categories of stakeholders including electricity generators, transmission and distribution utilities, energy businesses and services, consumers and Ontario communities.
Notably, though, consumers encompass three distinct groups: residential, small business and farm customers on the regulated price plan (RPP); commercial customers; and large industrial users. Gnanam and Wloch will replace the outgoing consumer representatives, Julie Girvan of the Consumers Council of Canada, and Mark Schembri, vice president, supermarket systems and store maintenance, with Loblaw Companies Ltd.
Wloch is a licensed architect with more than 16 years’ experience in Minto’s development division, where she has become a specialist in mixed-use development projects and is currently a leadership team member overseeing development management in both the company’s Toronto and Ottawa bases. She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Western University’s Ivey School of Business and is vice president of the Simcoe Chapter of the land economics society, Lambda Alpha International.
Gnanam is an engineer with nearly 20 years’ experience in the energy, commercial real estate and manufacturing sectors. He has keen interest in building performance and climate resilience and has Certified Energy Manager (CEM) and Certified Demand Side Manager (CDSM) designations from the Association of Energy Engineers. He is a member of the board of directors of EcoSchools Canada and the Clean Air Partnership.
Stakeholder advisory committee members are appointed from a slate of nominees put forward by “parties having an interest in IESO activities”. They serve two-year terms and are eligible to remain for up to six consecutive terms.
Three other new members will begin terms along with Gnanam and Wloch. They are: Ed Gilbert, corporate manager, Aamjiwnaang First Nation, and Tonja Leach, executive director of the public policy and research group, Quest, representing Ontario communities; and Amanda Klein, executive vice president, public and regulatory affairs, and chief legal officer with Toronto Hydro, representing distributors and transmitters.
