Duke Energy announces new South Carolina state president, senior VP position

Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe will become Duke Energy’s South Carolina state president, succeeding Clark Gillespy, who is taking a new position in the company.

Ghartey-Tagoe will manage state and local regulatory and government relations, and community affairs as state president. In all, he will be responsible for the financial performance of South Carolina, working closely with the corporate and regulatory strategy team to advance rate and regulatory initiatives in the state.

Most recently, Ghartey-Tagoe has served as senior vice president of state and federal regulatory legal support.

“Kodwo’s decades of experience have prepared him well for this important role,” said Lloyd Yates, executive vice president, market solutions, and president, Carolinas region. “In his new role, he will build on the great progress Clark and team have already accomplished, and he will continue to advocate for policies and practices that meet the energy needs of our customers and South Carolina in cost-effective, environmentally sound ways.”

Gillespy will enter a new position as Duke Energy’s senior vice president of economic development, leading an enterprise-wide economic development team that will seek to identify and attract new and expanding industries to Duke Energy’s service areas.

Duke Energy serves 730,000 electric and 139,000 gas customers in South Carolina.

Gillespy is charged with leading the company’s efforts to to identify and promote wider adoption of new and emerging grid-enabled technologies, including electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Ghartey-Tagoe previously served as vice president, legal, for Duke Energy’s Commercial Businesses organization. He was responsible for providing legal advice to the company’s commercial businesses, including Duke Energy International, Duke Energy Renewables, Midwest Commercial Generation and Commercial Transmission.

He has also served as Duke Energy’s general counsel for litigation, as well as vice president, legal – state regulation for Duke Energy’s Regulated Utilities business. Ghartey-Tagoe joined the company in 2002 as chief regulatory counsel for Duke Power.

A native of Ghana, Ghartey-Tagoe earned a Juris Doctor degree from Duke University and a Bachelor of Arts degree, with joint honors in economics and finance, from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.

This story was originally published November 4, 2016 at 11:22 PM with the headline "Duke Energy announces new South Carolina state president, senior VP position."