US utility giant AEP taps Warren Buffett energy empire builder Fehrman as next CEO

American Electric Power (AEP) has a new CEO, announcing that William Fehrman, a Vestas board member who was previously instrumental in building Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway into the largest US clean energy utility group, will assume his new role on 1 August.

Fehrman is presently CEO of Centuri Holdings, a utility infrastructure services company that in April completed an initial public offering.

He will take over from Ben Fowke, who has been serving as interim CEO since February of AEP, one of the nation’s largest electric utilities.

Fowke is a former CEO of Xcel Energy where he added about 10GW of wind power to utilities owned by the holding company during his lengthy tenure. He will serve as a senior advisor for several months to ensure a smooth transition and remain an AEP board member.

Fowke, in turn, replaced Julie Sloat, who left for reasons the company did not make public after little more than a year as CEO.

The expectation is that Fehrman, who brings decades of utility operational experience and in-depth knowledge of the utility industry, can stabilise AEP’s C-Suite, which has also seen CFO changes.

“Bill is an accomplished leader and industry veteran with a proven ability to drive operational excellence, produce strong financial results and deliver for customers and stakeholders,” said Sara Martinez Tucker, chair of AEP’s board.

Last decade, Fehrman was CEO of the sprawling energy division of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, after leading MidAmerican Energy Company and PacifiCorp, its two largest electric utilities.

While AEP is no longer active in competitive power markets, it has ambitious plans to invest $9.5bn over the next five years to add a further 15GW of battery storage, solar and wind to its regulated utility systems.