Sunflower Electric Power Corp. (Sunflower) has promoted five staff members to manager positions. Sunflower, a wholesale energy provider with seven electric distribution member-owners, has more than 400 employees working at its offices and generation facilities across central and western Kansas.
Ray Bergmeier was promoted to senior manager of transmission policy and North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) compliance. He will be responsible for managing transmission policy activities as they relate to Southwest Power Pool (SPP), Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC), and other regulatory policies. He will also assist with transmission agreements and research issues related to transmission policy, and he will ensure compliance with mandatory NERC requirements and other applicable compliance regulations.
A native of Kingman, and Washburn School of Law, Bergmeier has been with Sunflower since 2014. He served as staff attorney supporting Sunflower on transmission policy, as well as general legal and policy matters. He has also been instrumental in the development of a transmission cost allocation initiative and strategic engagement at SPP and FERC.
Lynn Schroeder was promoted to senior manager of transmission engineering design, planning, and protection. She will be responsible for directing activities in the transmission engineering substation design, protection, and planning departments, including establishing strategies and objectives in support of Sunflower’s transmission group. She will ensure Sunflower transmission substations are designed and maintained within the limitations of all applicable regulations and industry standards and that transmission and planning meet NERC reliability standards.
A native of Salina and graduate of Kansas State University with a bachelor’s degree in engineering, Schroeder has been with Sunflower since 2019. A licensed Professional Engineer, she has a strong background in substation design, system protection, leadership, and NERC compliance. She was instrumental in training less experienced engineers in system protection.
With Sunflower since 2010, Derek Vonada was promoted to manager of transmission substation design. He will be responsible for managing the daily activities of the transmission substation design engineering group, ensuring compliance with all applicable standards and laws.
Derek Vonada is a native of Sylvan Grove, and a graduate of Kansas State University, earning his Professional Engineer license in 2015. He has a strong substation design, system protection and project management background and has been involved with numerous substation and transmission line projects at Sunflower.
Ryan Yokley was promoted to manager of strategy planning engineering. He will be responsible for providing advanced transmission engineering and strategic activities support as it relates to the SPP Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) functions that impact Sunflower. He will provide advanced transmission and distribution support as it relates to Sunflower local planning activities and will monitor the activities of national entities, such as NERC, FERC, and national transmission organizations, as they relate to industry shifts impacting Sunflower. He will also mentor and guide power flow studies for junior engineers.
A native of Chanute and graduate of Kansas State University, Yokley has been with Sunflower since 2010. He focused on the SPP Integrated Transmission Planning Process, providing support with long-term transmission studies, and guided transmission planning activities related to SPP. He has a strong electrical engineering background with a focus on power systems and has maintained both Professional Engineer and Certified Energy Manager Licenses since 2014.
Anne Erbert was promoted to manager of member solutions. She will be responsible for leading and managing the member solutions team, ensuring the delivery of high-quality services, resolving member concerns, and implementing solutions to enhance member satisfaction within Sunflower’s member systems and region.
A native of Hays and graduate of Fort Hays State University, Erbert has been with Sunflower since 2018. Previously a key accounts director, she served as a liaison for Sunflower’s members to communicate business needs to internal staff and provided regular updates for key account projects. In addition, Erbert assisted Sunflower’s members with supporting data to aid in new business attraction, business expansion, and business retention efforts.
“Congratulations to these five individuals on their success and promotions at Sunflower,” said Steve Epperson, Sunflower’s president and CEO. “They, along with their colleagues, work hard every day to ensure that we meet our mission of providing our seven member-owner distribution utilities with wholesale energy services they need to serve central and western Kansas.”
