EVENT:

Please join us on Friday, April 7, 2017 at 13:00 (GMT) for a telephonic press conference with Acting U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Griff Thompson and Dr. Lawrence E. Jones, Vice President of the Edison Electric Institute who will discuss the recently held Africa Utility Power Sector Exchange. Mr. Thompson and Dr. Jones will discuss how this new initiative will advance electric power sector reform and development in underdeveloped markets. These underdeveloped markets experience the greatest challenges to energy access.

This joint initiative encourages the exchange of ideas and best practices in the management of utilities as both Africa and the United States move forward to face 21^st century challenges. This public-private partnership combines the best of the private sector with U.S. diplomatic leadership to deepen and broaden U.S. support for expanding energy access and improving energy efficiency helping to modernize Africa’s electric utilities.    

DETAILS:

Speaker: Acting U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Griff Thompson and Dr. Lawrence E. Jones, Vice President of the Edison Electric Institute
Date: April 7 2017
Time: 09:00 EST |13:00 GMT
* Please use Time Zone Converter to determine the start time of the event in your time zone.
Language:  English. French and Portuguese interpretation will be offered.
Ground rules: On the record
Dial-in Info: To be provided once you RSVP
RSVP: RSVP to afmediahub@state.gov. Please indicate if you will dial in (specify English/French/Portuguese line), or request that we dial out to you (provide the phone number and language to be used).
Twitter: Follow the conversation at #EnergyAccessAF for the call. Follow us on @EnergyAtState and @AfricaMediaHub.

LOGISTICS:

• Callers should dial-in to the conference call 10-15 minutes early. 
• When an individual journalist dials-in, the operator will collect the caller’s name, press affiliation, and location.  When an embassy dials in, the operator will ask the embassy’s name and location.
• The moderator will facilitate the Q and A among the connected callers and the journalists in Washington D.C.  Journalists on the conference call will be instructed to press the “*” and “1” buttons on their phones in order to enter the question queue.  NOTE:  You can press “*1” at any time during the call to join the question queue, even before the moderator begins the Q and A portion.  We ask that journalists limit themselves to one question and indicate to which speaker the question is directed.  Journalists can also submit questions in English to afmediahub@state.gov prior to or during the call. 
• Following the call, broadcasters may download a digital copy of the video for this and all on-camera Foreign Press Center (FPC) events at www.dvidshub.net/USDOS. To request a physical copy (BETACAM SP, MINI DV or DVD), please contact video@state.gov.

Bios:

Griffin M. Thompson, Ph.D - Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Transformation, Bureau of Energy Resources. Term of Appointment: 01/2017 to present

Griffin Thompson is responsible for guiding the Bureau’s work on energy transformation, leveraging U.S. leadership in clean energy innovation to open markets for U.S. companies abroad by promoting market-based policies and the introduction of advanced and efficient clean energy technologies.

Before joining the Bureau of Energy Resources, Dr. Thompson was Senior Climate Change Program Manager in the Department’s Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science, and Lead Negotiator for the U.S. on Technology at the UNFCCC.  Past positions include: Director of the Office of Energy at the U.S. Agency for International Development; Executive Director of the International Institute for Energy Conservation; and, Senior Policy Analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Dr. Thompson is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and the University of Maryland. He has a B.A. in English Literature from Gonzaga University; and a Ph.D. in Political Philosophy from Georgetown University.

Lawrence E. Jones - Vice President International Programs, Edison Electric Institute

Lawrence E. Jones joined Edison Electric Institute in September 2015 as Vice President, International Programs.

Prior to joining EEI, Mr. Jones was North America Vice President for Utility Innovation & Infrastructure Resilience at Alstom Grid Inc., where he assisted utilities worldwide with formulating strategies for deploying new technology solutions.  While at Alstom, Mr. Jones also served as Vice President, Policy, Regulatory Affairs & Industry Relations for the international full-service electric generation and transmission firm.  

Mr. Jones is a member of numerous U.S. and international industry advisory committees, and serves as Co-Chair of the 21st Century Power Partnership Leadership Forum, as a member on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee, and as a member of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Smart Grid Advisory Committee. 

Born and raised in Monrovia, Liberia, Mr. Jones lived in Sweden for more than a decade, where he received his M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and his Ph.D. in Power Systems Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.