Every year brings change, and for CMMPA/CMPAS, we welcome Chris Kopel as Interim-Chief Executive Officer. Although new in this role, Chris is very familiar with CMPAS’s short-term and long-term goals serving as the Agency’s Chief Operating Officer since 2013. Chris continues to lead a number of key strategic initiatives in power supply, transmission, distribution mapping, and financial and human resource planning for the Agency and its members.

As much as we are glad to welcome Chris to this new role, we will miss Steve Thompson, who decided to retire from the Agency in January 2018. CMMPA/CMPAS expresses its deep appreciation for the valuable leadership and significant contributions that Steve has provided to CMMPA/CMPAS over the years.

Steve’s many accomplishments include leading the Agency and its members in the planning and procurement of their first wholesale power portfolios to replace their legacy full requirements contracts with Xcel Energy; diversifying their power supply portfolios with long-term nuclear and wind purchases; spearheading our entry into transmission ownership with precedent-setting FERC approval; launching an array of innovative member services, such as R4 Solar; and enhancing CMMPA/CMPAS’s reputation as a low cost, reliable and member-oriented joint action agency. We thank Steve Thompson for his 18 years of service.

Thanks to the efforts of Steve, Chris, and the entire CMPAS team, we are well positioned to continue providing reliable, competitively-priced, and environmentally-sound electricity for our cities.

We look forward to our continued working relationship with our public power partners and others in the electric utility industry!

Read the full announcement here.