Varentec Hires Veteran Chief Policy Wonk

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Varentectm, a leading Smart Grid technology company, announced today it has hired cleantech veteran Michael Jung to serve as the company's Vice President for Policy, Government, and Regulatory Affairs (a.k.a., Chief Policy Wonk). Reporting directly to the CEO, Michael also will collaborate closely with Varentec's longtime advisory board member Paul Centolella, a distinguished former utility commissioner from Ohio.

"Varentec has invested significant time and resources toward developing groundbreaking technologies for the Smart Grid. As we prepare to enter the market at scale, the time is ripe to engage the energy policy community to deliver the benefits of precisely regulating voltage to capture superior efficiency while simultaneously integrating distributed resources," said Guillaume Dufossé, Chairman and CEO of Varentec. "Michael brings a wealth of experience from working in the utility industry, advising governors, and shaping public policy in the cleantech sector. We are delighted to have enlisted his talents to lead our policy work."

Prior to joining Varentec, Michael Jung served as the founding Policy Director at the cleantech powerhouse Silver Spring Networks. In this role, he helped to shape the 2009 Smart Grid federal stimulus funding and obtain state regulatory approvals that enabled Silver Spring Networks to connect over 27 million homes and businesses to the Smart Grid. Michael also is an experienced public servant: he chaired an energy policy task force for Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber and served as a policy advisor to the campaign and administration of Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, where he architected comprehensive energy policy legislation. Earlier in his career, Michael managed environmental and climate change policy at American Electric Power and also served as chief of staff to the President/COO of the company's flagship operating company, AEP Ohio. He is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, Yale College, and the Harvard Kennedy School.

"Now that the foundations are in place for the Smart Grid, it is time to accelerate the arrival of the benefits," said Michael. "Varentec is creating innovative solutions for the most pressing challenges facing our grid by unlocking new opportunities for energy efficiency and making distributed resources easier to integrate. I'm excited to join Guillaume and his team at Varentec to put the Smart Grid to work for all of us."

About Varentec
Varentectm provides innovative solutions for the nascent era of distributed grid control. The Varentec ENGO® devices are deployed on the secondary side of the distribution grid to control voltage and reactive power in real time and eliminate grid edge voltage volatility, even when high numbers of distributed solar or wind systems are deployed on a circuit.

ENGO devices coupled with the GEMS software platform provide a complete, stand-alone solution to Distribution Utilities. In deployments across the U.S. and Canada, Varentec's technology is consistently achieving unparalleled energy savings or peak demand reduction of 5% or more through voltage reduction while significantly reducing technical losses.

Varentectm, ENGO® and GEMS® are trademarks of Varentec Corporation.

SOURCE Varentec