VP Construction in United States Resume Rufus Kellam
VP Construction in United States Resume Rufus Kellam
VP Construction in United States Resume Rufus Kellam
KELLAM
Contact: linkedin.com/in/rufuskellam
Professional Summary
Mr. Kellam has more than 40 years of experience in the utility industry with expertise in transmission
system construction and operation, distribution system construction, and generation plant construction
and operations. This includes construction of renewable energy generation as well as underground and
overhead transmission work to connect wind farms to the grid. Mr. Kellam, in his just completed position,
as Transmission Manager of the Energy Policy Program (EPP) in Pakistan, was responsible for increasing
throughput from generation to customers and advising the National Power Control Center (NPCC) on
system operations in Pakistan. His department has added over 500 MW of throughput and is over 100%
in meeting the goal. As Vice President of Construction at Rollcast Energy, he was primarily responsible
for the construction of Piedmont Green Power and Rollcasts other green energy projects. In addition, he
supported other development, acquisition and asset management efforts for the company. This included
working with the Company President and Engineering VP to arrange financing, negotiate the
Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Contract to complete the development of the project as well
as the completion of detailed design and going to the field to construct. Taking part in the PPA and
Transmission Services Agreement negotiations was also part of his responsibilities. In addition to
renewables experience, he also fulfilled the same role and responsibilities in connecting power plants to
the grid in Texas where he had responsibility for $1.2 billion in power plant expansion and ensuring that
over $100 million in transmission facilities were in place to evacuate the power to the market. Mr. Kellam
has been involved in the energy privatization activities in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador,
Indonesia, and Peru. He served as a member of the Duke Engineering & Services (DE&S) Team that
performed extensive due diligence evaluations of transmission and generation facilities for possible
acquisition by Duke Energy Corp. He also evaluated the opportunities associated with the privatization of
distribution and generation in the state of Victoria, Australia. Mr. Kellam worked with Japanese and
Indonesian partners to assess and economically resolve power supply, system operation, and voltage sag
problems in an area in Central Java identified for industrial growth by the provincial and federal
governments. As a representative for project owners, he worked with their engineering company to
determine the most cost-effective alternatives to mitigate right-of-way and construction risk for a large
Greenfield coal-fired project to be built in Indonesia. He also led technical due diligence on the
transmission line and substation segment of the project. Mr. Kellam has served as Chief of Transmission
Control for Duke Power. He was responsible for all activities involving bulk power transmission and
energy movement for the Duke Power grid.
Relevant Experience
USAID Energy Policy Program (EPP)
09/2014-12/2015
AEAI, Pakistan
Transmission Manager
Oversaw the capacity building of NTDC Planning and NTDC Design with training and additions
of hardware and software; PESCO line work, with training and tools; PESCO grid maintenance
with tools and equipment
Handled expansion of throughput by over 500 MW with equipment additions and repairs
Completed technical audits for NTDC and PESCO grid stations and recommendations to resolve
the issues provided to the executive management of those companies
Structured and disciplined projects with over 100% success. Worked with the Ministry of Water
and Power and the NTDC Board of Directors as well as shoulder-to-shoulder with the NPCC
Resolved the issues that lead to the four nationwide blackouts over a six-week period this past
winter
08/2012-09/2014
07/2007-07/2010
Completed construction projects on time and on budget including: permitting, bringing fuel gas
on-site as well as ensuring that all direct connect electric transmission work and other electric
transmission expansion took place to support the project needs
Evacuated the power to market entailing putting over $100 million in transmission facilities in
place in Texas
08/2004-06/2007
04/1998-09/1998
Asset Management
Northern Latin America
Director
Responsible for stopping the cash losses in Ecuador and Peru
Collected cash from the government improved in Ecuador, and the construction project was
brought under control in Peru
01/1997-04/1998
California ISO Implementation
Project Manager
Led the DE&S team for the implementation of the ISO in California
Managed the activities causing the states investor-owned utilities, Pacific Gas and Electric
Company, Southern California Edison Company, and San Diego Gas & Electric, to transition to a
competitive electric market
Promoted a competitive electricity market while ensuring the reliability of the power grid
Coordinated energy scheduling, monitoring, and controlled up to 50,000-MW of energy over
thousands of miles of transmission lines across the entire state
Efficiently managed the delivery and installation of the energy management systems, data and
telecommunications systems, scheduling systems, and the billing and accounting systems
Worked on the project from inception through start-up and testing
07/1993-11/1994
Argentina
Operations Manager
Performed due diligence on the transmission system privatization, and requested by the the
Board of Transener, the transmission company, to head operations.
Managed the O&M of the grid, which consisted of more than 6,800 km of 500 kV lines, 560
km of 200 kV lines, 28 substations, and 645 O&M personnel
Ensured the effective operation and development of the system
Coordinated and developed work scope for regional coordinators/area managers
Monitored and evaluated operation of each area, considering opportunities for cross
development of systems, and liaised with internal/external sources as required
Improved response to outages by a factor of two, and developed a smaller more crossfunctional work force
Organized maintenance program to implement better, predictive response and to better control
and manage warehouses and inventories
Transmission Control
1974-1993
Chief
Worked as a dispatcher in the control center for the southern third of the Duke transmission
system, being promoted to Assistant Chief in 1978 and Chief in 1987
Responsible for stability and reliability of the Duke Power transmission system
Supervised 24 transmission coordinators responsible for the coordination, monitoring,
controlling, directing and authorizing of all activities affecting bulk power transmission and
energy movement
Led the consolidation of three Duke operating centers into one central Transmission Control
Center
Operated the grid such that all voltage, load, frequency requirements were met
Represented Transmission Control in: revising the rules for operating the transmission system;
and revising the design standards of all transmission facilities and all facilities connecting to
transmission lines
Managed all budgeting and strategic planning of the Transmission Control Center
Coordinated the development and configuration of the transmission grid
Education
University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
MBA
University of South Carolina, Spartanburg, SC
Interdisciplinary Studies (Economics/ Finance/Liberal Arts)
Tri-County Technical College, Pendleton, SC
AAS, Electronic Engineering,
1982
1978
1974