Sam R. Jones has been active in inter-utility reliability work for over 27 years. Jones retired from the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) on September 15, 2007. Jones joined ERCOT on December 1, 1996, as its first Independent System Operations Director. In March 2000, he was appointed as Executive Vice President and COO of ERCOT. He was named President and Chief Executive Officer in May of 2006. Prior to joining ERCOT, Jones was employed by the City of Austin Electric Utility in Texas for over 35 years. During his career with the City of Austin, he held engineering and management positions in the areas of distribution, transmission, substation, generation and system operations. Jones retired from the City of Austin as the Director of Generation and Energy Control. Most recently, Jones was active in the industry, serving as chair of the ERCOT Operating Subcommittee and as past chair of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Operating Committee. He has also chaired or participated in numerous NERC and ERCOT committees and task forces, including the NERC Reliability Assessment Subcommittee. Jones has a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and is a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas.