Xcel Energy moves 3 directors in Amarillo, Lubbock to regional leadership roles

Xcel Energy has named three of its Texas-based directors as regional vice presidents over the company’s core grid operations in the Panhandle and South Plains regions of Texas and in eastern and southeastern New Mexico, the utility company announced this week.

David Low has been promoted to regional vice president of Texas and New Mexico power plant operations, and Cory Wood to regional vice president for Transmission Operations. Both are based in Amarillo.

Casey Meeks, who operates from Lubbock, has been named regional vice president for Distribution Operations.

“David, Cory and Casey are proven leaders who bring years of experience to bear as they direct critical operations that provide our customers with affordable, clean and reliable electricity service,” said Adrian J. Rodriguez, president, Xcel Energy-New Mexico, Texas. “In their positions, they will play an even stronger role as we transform and modernize the region’s power grid to better serve our customers’ needs.”

Low, who has 42 years of service to the company, started his career as a student engineer at Jones Generating Station in Lubbock. He spent 12 years as project engineer at Tolk Generating Station near Muleshoe and another eight years as maintenance manager at Harrington Generating Station in Amarillo before leaving Texas to take a position as plant director at Pawnee Generating Station in Brush, Colo. He later returned to Tolk Generating Station as plant director, and 13 years ago, he was named general manager of power plant operations in Texas and New Mexico.

Wood joined Xcel Energy as an apprentice lineman in 1995. He worked in Xcel Energy’s Transmission group as a foreman, supervisor, senior manager, regional director and senior director before being named regional vice president. His recent work has been directed at boosting the resiliency of the region’s transmission system, Xcel said.

Meeks began his work with Xcel Energy in 2008 as a Distribution Design engineer in Hobbs. He was then promoted to manager in Distribution Design and later as director of Design and Construction for the company’s Texas South division based in Lubbock. Most recently, he was senior director of Distribution Operations for Xcel Energy’s Texas-New Mexico distribution system. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Texas and New Mexico.

Xcel Energy’s Texas-New Mexico system serves more than 403,000 customers in a 52,000-square-mile area that includes the Panhandle and South Plains regions of Texas and eastern and southeastern New Mexico.