The RF team mourns the passing of Michehl R. Gent on February 1, 2022. He was the longest tenured CEO of NERC, serving the organization and industry from 1980-2005, and he initiated the important shift from a voluntary reliability organization to one with mandatory standards and enforcement.

Gent had the foresight to establish the Electric Sector Information Sharing and Analysis Center, and, under his leadership, NERC began its strong focus on cyber and critical infrastructure protection. NERC changed the center’s name to the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center in 2015. In addition to his dedication to building NERC into the successful organization it is today, he also served on the Board of Directors for Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) for many years.

“Mike was an outstanding and visionary advocate for electric system reliability throughout his career,” said Tim Gallagher, RF President and CEO. “He also was a strong leader, friend and mentor to me when I was fortunate enough to work for him on the NERC staff. I learned so much from Mike and owe the successes I have enjoyed during my career in large part to him. The industry has lost a great friend.”