In This Article:
COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) has named Puesh M. Kumar vice president of National Security and Resilience, effective April 9. Kumar will report to Emily Duncan, senior vice president of Federal Affairs, and will be based in the company's Washington, D.C. office.
Kumar will be responsible for leading AEP's engagement with federal agencies, state, local, territorial, and tribal (SLTT) communities, and other industry partners on national security, cybersecurity and grid resilience issues facing the electric sector.
"A resilient grid is essential to the integrity and strength of our communities, the economy and national security," said AEP President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Fehrman. "Puesh brings to this role deep industry experience and demonstrated expertise in energy security planning. We welcome him to the team to continue shaping important stakeholder relationships and policy strategy to create the grid of the future."
Kumar currently is the director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER). In this role, he has led a team focused on the security and resilience of electricity, oil, and natural gas systems across the United States. He represented DOE on National Security Council interagency policy committees focused on cybersecurity and critical infrastructure resilience, worked with states on energy security planning, led research and development efforts, managed the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and directed emergency response efforts for cyber, physical and natural hazards impacting the energy system. Also, he has briefed Congressional committees and staff on threats to electricity, oil, and natural gas systems, led and engaged in technical conferences with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and worked with public utility commissions on strengthening the reliability, security and resilience of the U.S. electricity sector. Kumar also has represented DOE and the U.S. government in bilateral and multilateral engagements with allies across the globe.
Kumar has more than 20 years of experience in the energy sector. Prior to his role at DOE, he worked at Southern California Edison, the American Public Power Association, and Memphis Light, Gas, and Water working on topics spanning grid modernization, reliability, cybersecurity, resource adequacy, artificial intelligence and supply chain security. He has a degree in electric engineering with a focus on power systems.