HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Calpine Corporation (NYSE:CPN) has named veteran power industry leader Charlie Gates as its Executive Vice President of Power Operations effective April 1, 2016. Mr. Gates previously served as Duke Energy Corporation’s Senior Vice President and Chief Fossil/Hydro Officer. He will report to Calpine’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Thad Hill. Mr. Gates will succeed Tom Webb, who came out of retirement to lead Calpine’s Power Operations team on an interim bases since August 2015 and previously had led the team in 2009-2010.
“The depth of Charlie’s experience and accomplishments in the power industry is hard to match. In addition to heading operations of one of the largest power plant fleets in the nation, Charlie has developed important technological improvements, led merger integration teams and achieved impressive safety performance. I am very pleased to welcome him to Calpine’s executive management team,” Mr. Hill said. “I am also very grateful to Tom for his leadership over the past several months as he applied his deep knowledge and skills to maintaining operational excellence across our power plant fleet.”
At Duke, Mr. Gates was responsible for all regulated non-nuclear generation assets, including significant budgets and approximately 42,000 MWs of generation capacity. He was promoted to his most recent role in August 2014 after serving as SVP of Power Generation Operations since July 2012, when Progress Energy merged with Duke. He had served in a similar capacity for Progress since January 2012 after being promoted from Vice President of Fossil Generation for Progress Energy for the Carolinas and Florida. He was previously General Manager of Progress Energy Florida from the time the company merged with Carolina Power & Light Company in 2001 to 2006. Mr. Gates began his power industry career with Carolina Power & Light in 1982 as an associate engineer and moved up through increasingly responsible positions to become General Manager of five fossil-fuel plants in 2000. Mr. Gates’ other industry leadership roles include serving as Chairman of the Generation Council for the Electric Power Research Institute. He earned bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University and in political science from the University of North Carolina.
About Calpine
Calpine Corporation is America’s largest generator of electricity from natural gas and geothermal resources. Our fleet of 84 power plants in operation or under construction represents more than 27,000 megawatts of generation capacity. Through wholesale power operations and our retail business, Champion Energy, we serve customers in 20 states and Canada. We specialize in developing, constructing, owning and operating natural gas-fired and renewable geothermal power plants that use advanced technologies to generate power in a low-carbon and environmentally responsible manner. Our clean, efficient, modern and flexible fleet is uniquely positioned to benefit from the secular trends affecting our industry, including the abundant and affordable supply of clean natural gas, stricter environmental regulation, aging power generation infrastructure and the increasing need for dispatchable power plants to successfully integrate intermittent renewables into the grid. Please visit www.calpine.com to learn more about why Calpine is a generation ahead – today, or visit www.championenergyservices.com for details on Champion’s award-winning retail electric services.
Forward-Looking Information
In addition to historical information, this release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Words such as “believe,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “estimate,” “potential,” “project” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Such statements include, among others, those concerning expected financial performance and strategic and operational plans, as well as assumptions, expectations, predictions, intentions or beliefs about future events. You are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that a number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Please see the risks identified in this release or in Calpine’s reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, the risk factors identified in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2015. These filings are available by visiting the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov or Calpine’s website at www.calpine.com. Given the risks and uncertainties surrounding forward-looking statements, you should not place undue reliance on these statements. Many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. Actual results or developments may differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, and, other than as required by law, Calpine undertakes no obligation to update any such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
