PG&E names successors for retiring VP in charge of Diablo Canyon
PG&E has appointed two people to fill the role of retiring Chief Nuclear Officer and Senior Vice President of Generation Ed Halpin.
The utility company has named James “Jim” Welsch as the company’s new chief nuclear officer and Jon Franke as vice president of power generation, effective Nov. 1.
Halpin, who announced his retirement in June, will stay on with the company through December to help with the transition.
“Jim and Jon are both experienced leaders with proven track records of success,” President and Chief Operating Officer Nick Stavropoulos said. “I am confident that their skills and wealth of experiences will continue to serve us well in our mission to generate safe, clean, affordable and reliable power for our customers.”
Welsch, currently vice president of nuclear generation, will be responsible for the “continued safe, efficient and reliable operations of Diablo Canyon Power Plant,” according to a news release. He will also be the company’s contact with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations.
Welsch began working at PG&E in 1984, serving in various leadership and staff positions at Diablo Canyon, including station director, operations services director, operations manager, operations shift manager, control room supervisor and shift engineer, according to the release. He has a bachelor of science degree in nuclear technology from Regents College, New York, and served in the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Submarine Service.
In his new position, Franke, who currently serves as vice president of generation technical services, will be responsible for the “safe and reliable operation of the company’s natural gas, hydroelectric and renewable power plant fleet.” He will also lead utility functions related to power plant decommissioning.
Franke joined PG&E in January; prior to that he had more than 30 years of nuclear and energy industry experience with the U.S. Navy, Carolina Power and Light, Progress Energy, Duke Energy, PPL Corp. and Talen Energy.
He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1985 with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering; he also holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
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This story was originally published October 30, 2017 at 4:40 PM with the headline "PG&E names successors for retiring VP in charge of Diablo Canyon."