Houston April 2015 Luncheon

“Smart Grid in ERCOT: Is It Working?”

In his 29-year career at CenterPoint Energy and predecessor companies, Kenny Mercado has held numerous leadership positions in engineering and operations in the company’s electric utility business. In his current position as senior vice president of CenterPoint Energy’s electric utility business, Kenny has financial and operational responsibility of the company’s 5,000 square-mile service territory as well as power delivery to more than 2.2 million homes and businesses in the Houston metropolitan area. Prior to his current position, he was division senior vice president of Grid and Market Operations, responsible for automating and integrating the company’s nearly 53,000 miles of electric transmission and distribution grid to serve the Texas competitive market. He was also responsible for the deployment of a smart grid system, which includes the installation of smart meters and intelligent grid technology.

Kenny received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and a Master of Science degree in industrial engineering from the University of Houston. He also received an Executive MBA degree from Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. A licensed professional engineer registered in the state of Texas, Kenny serves on the boards of the March of Dimes in Houston, the University of Houston Honors College and Engineering Leadership Program, Southeastern Electric Exchange and the Texas Center for Commercialization of Electric Technologies.