The Nuclear Energy Institute said Tuesday that it its Chief Operating Officer Maria Korsnick would replace retiring Chief Executive Officer Marvin Fertel, who is scheduled to step down on Dec. 31.
Fertel served as the NEI's top officer for nine years. Korsnick will take over as president and CEO on Jan. 1, 2017.
Korsnick was on loan from Exelon Generation and Constellation Energy Nuclear Group. In her position at NEI, she has guided day-to-day operations and represented the industry before a multitude of stakeholders, including the Obama administration, Congress, state lawmakers and international nuclear industry professionals, the lobbying group said in a statement.
The shift at the top is just one of several key personnel changes at the organization, but one that has the endorsement of NEI Chairman Don Brandt, who also serves as the chairman, president and CEO of Pinnacle West Capital Corp. “Maria is highly regarded for her strong leadership skills and exceptional technical expertise,” Brandt said.
Along with changes at the NEI, the organization noted the “transformational time” for the industry with the domestic front being no exception. “Nuclear power plants operating in 30 states in 2015 achieved a record-high industry average capacity factor of 92.2 percent—a measure of efficiency—while generating more than 60 percent of America’s carbon-free electricity supply. Over the next four years, five new reactors will commence operations in Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina. However, an estimated 15 to 20 existing reactors are at risk of premature shutdown due to competitive electric markets not recognizing the value they provide to the environment, system reliability, and grid stability, coupled with existing low natural gas prices and federal and state policies supporting renewable technologies. Over the past several years, companies have shut down—or announced plans to shut down—10 reactors in five states,” the NEI said.
Prior to joining NEI, Korsnick was Exelon Generation’s senior vice president for Northeast operations and chief nuclear officer for CENG. She oversaw operations at three nuclear energy facilities and chaired the industry’s Fukushima Response Steering Committee that identified safety enhancements for extreme events based on lessons learned from the 2011 accident in Japan and implemented them at all U.S. reactors.
Among other leadership roles during her 30-year nuclear energy career, Korsnick served as acting CEO at CENG, vice president for corporate operations, site vice president at the Ginna nuclear power plant in New York, and she was a federally licensed senior reactor operator at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear station in Maryland.
Korsnick has a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Maryland. She is a member of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations Accreditation Board and former chairman of the Electric Power Research Institute’s Nuclear Power Council.