Pat Wood leads a team at the Hunt Energy Network building and operating a platform of distributed power assets (storage, grid-connected and customer premises generation) across Texas. They have 31 operating batteries and went operational on their first diesel peaking generator this month, with more on the way. HEN is also working with select customers to power their data centers.
In the late 1990s, as Chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, Pat led the regulatory restructuring of the State’s utilities into a highly competitive, swift-growing power market that has slashed emissions, expanded infrastructure and kept prices low through its customer-driven model. In that quarter-century, Texas has become the 6th largest nation in the world in solar and wind capacity. On customer power pricing, Texas has moved from 33rd cheapest state in 2001 to 9th cheapest state this year. With its diverse rich energy resources, expanding population, attractiveness to investment and large industrial base, Texas is at the center of the energy expansion.
Pat also chaired the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under President George W. Bush where he championed natural gas infrastructure, wholesale power market formation and grid reliability. After his public service, his energy infrastructure activities included public board service (Dynegy, Quanta Services, SunPower, Memorial Resource Development, Spring Valley Acquisition Corp.) and project development (Airtricity, First Wind, Sharyland Utilities, Xtreme Power, Range Fuels. TPI Composites).
Outside of HEN, Pat is Chairman of Luma, the joint venture rebuilding and operating Puerto Rico’s electric power system. Pat is a Texas Aggie civil engineer and a Harvard lawyer. He and his wife, Kathleen, have raised four sons in Houston, and life is good.