About Us

Essential Power™, LLC is headquartered near Woodbridge, New Jersey. We are a wholesale power generation and marketing company, engaged in the ownership and operation of a portfolio of primarily gas-fired intermediate load and peaking power generation stations in the Northeastern United States. Our power stations are primarily modern, efficient and environmentally responsible with more than 75 percent of the total generating capacity commencing operations in June 2002 or later. We operate over 2,100 megawatts of power generation on behalf of our owners and partners.

All of the power stations are located within the competitive wholesale electricity markets coordinated by ISO New England Inc. (ISO-NE) and PJM Interconnection, LLC (PJM). PJM and ISO-NE are well-developed markets and are among the most liquid and transparent in the United States.

The Essential Power portfolio is diverse in terms of operating characteristics, contractual arrangements and fuels. Essential Power, through various subsidiaries, owns 100% of four discrete electric power generation projects and 19 different generating units with an aggregate capacity of 1,755 megawatts. Of this total, our net ownership is 1,706 megawatts due to a 20% minority ownership by Osaka Gas in one of the projects at Lakewood, New Jersey that an Essential Power subsidiary operates on behalf of Osaka. In addition, we operate 351 megawatts of generation at Rock Springs, Maryland, on behalf of our partner at that location, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC).

We work actively to support competitive and fair markets. We market and sell capacity, energy and ancillary services from this portfolio of generation projects located in these established, competitive wholesale electricity markets. Our marketing and hedging strategies are focused on generating stable cash flows for investors and our projects have demonstrated strong operational, environmental, health and safety records.

We employ about 150 skilled, motivated and experienced people in our companies. These professionals are passionate about producing power in a safe, economical and environmentally responsible manner. Our employees truly are essential to our success!

Our Executive Team

Our Executive Team is comprised of key industry leaders with a vast array of experience in the energy and power generation sectors.

Tom Rainwater, President & Chief Executive Officer

Tom Rainwater is President and Chief Executive Officer of Essential Power, LLC. Tom joined the company in May 2009 as our CEO after a long history of increasingly responsible roles in the energy sector. He began in the energy business in 1982 as a young engineer working for a vertically integrated electric and gas utility in support of nuclear and coal-fired power generating stations, before taking on a series of roles in the natural gas industry as it was restructured in the 1980s. Tom then moved into the U.S. domestic gas business and held a number of management roles in marketing and gas supply for a decade before returning to the power business in the mid 1990s as wholesale power markets were restructured.

He has held executive and Board roles for multinational power companies relying on a variety of power generation technology. Tom has direct experience with all forms of conventional power generation as well as several renewable technologies.

He earned undergraduate engineering degrees from the University of Michigan College of Engineering in Ann Arbor, Michigan in mechanical engineering and in interdisciplinary studies with a focus on technical writing. Later, Tom earned a masters degree in management from Cardinal Stritch University of Milwaukee, Wisconsin as well as additional graduate level studies with a marketing certificate from the SMU Cox School of business of Dallas, Texas.

Jeff Spencer, Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Jeff has 22 years of domestic and international experience in the power generation sector including regional and subsidiary executive financial management roles at Southern Company and its subsidiaries in the U.S. and Latin America as Chief Financial Officer, Northeast Region for Mirant Corp; Assistant Treasurer of Southern Company Services; and Chief Financial Officer of a South American Subsidiary. Jeff's experience at Southern and Mirant also includes corporate finance, business development and mergers and acquisitions roles in the U.S., Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, having significant responsibilities for the financing and execution of several acquisitions, as well as various public bond and equity offerings, Rule 144A private placements, commercial bank facilities, lease financings and financial derivative transactions.

David Rosenstein, Vice President & General Counsel

David is the Vice President & General Counsel for Essential Power, LLC and has additional responsibilities in leading the External Affairs team as well as overseeing the corporate Compliance group. Prior to joining NAEA, David served as Vice President and General Counsel of Conectiv Energy, the merchant generation subsidiary of Pepco Holdings, Inc. Before joining Conectiv Energy David served as Vice President of Lundberg, Marshall & Associates, a national engineering consulting firm that provides services to members of the electric utility industry and their industrial customers. While with Lundberg Marshall, David managed the firm's regulatory intervention practice. Prior to joining Lundberg, Marshall David was a partner with the law firm of Dykema Gossett, a 450 attorney law firm headquartered in Detroit, Michigan.

David holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Cincinnati in Ohio.

Rick White, Vice President, Human Resources & Chief Administrative Officer

Rick White currently serves as Vice President, Human Resources & Chief Administrative Officer for Essential Power, LLC. Prior to joining Essential Power™, he spent 15 years with GE Energy in various roles including Business Development and Human Resources Management for the Global Operations & Maintenance, Contractual Services and Power Generation Services businesses of GE.

Rick served 6½ years on active duty with the United States Air Force and holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. He has worked in the Power Generation industry for the past 27 years.

John Bahrs, Vice President, Power Generation Services

John currently serves as Vice President, Power Generation Services for Essential Power, LLC overseeing plant operations and engineer functions. In this role, he is responsible for the safe, reliable and environmentally compliant operation of Essential Power's 1,750 megawatt fleet. Previously, John held the positions of Director & General Manager of Essential Power's New England region and served as Commercial Asset Manager. John has 23 years of diverse experience in the electric power generation industry with expertise in plant operation and maintenance, asset management and project development.

John holds a Bacholor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Manhattan College and a Masters in Business Administration from Pace University.

Our Board of Managers

The Board of Managers for Essential Power, LLC includes a combination of independent industry thought leaders as well as executive directors from its owner, Industry Funds Management (IFM).

Charles E. Bayless, Chairman of the Board, Independent Director

Mr. Bayless is an Independent Member of the Board of Managers for the North American Energy Alliance. He brings with him over 35 years of engineering and executive experience in the energy utility industry. He also serves on the boards of four energy companies and is Chairman of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Energy Committee and West Virginia Industrial Council. Mr. Bayless has a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Juris Doctorate (Law) from West Virginia University and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Michigan.

Lars Bespolka, Director

Mr. Bespolka is an Investment Director on IFM's senior leadership team based in New York. He brings senior corporate and investment banking experience to the organization and has global investment banking and commodity structuring experience. Mr. Bespolka holds a Bachelor of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

R. Foster Duncan, Chairman of the Audit & Financial Risk Committee, Independent Director

Mr. Duncan is an Independent Member of the Board of Managers for Essential Power, LLC and brings senior corporate, investment banking and private equity experience to the organization. Foster has worked in key senior roles in investment banking and the utility industry. Mr. Duncan has a Bachelor of Arts in Government from University of Virginia and a Masters in Business Administration from A.B. Freeman Graduate School of Business at Tulane University.

Alec Montgomery, Director

Mr. Montgomery is the Head of Infrastructure - North America for IFM, based in New York. He brings with him over 15 years of experience in project and infrastructure finance. Prior to his international work in banking he provided econometric consulting services to electric utilities. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Harvard College and an MBA (International Finance) from Babson College.

Our Owners

IFM is one of the largest global investors in infrastructure with a track record dating back to 1994. IFM pioneered infrastructure investing on behalf of pension funds and institutional investors. IFM invests in a diversified portfolio of global infrastructure assets including generation and transportation of energy, information, people and products, and real property from which services to the community or government are delivered.