Overview
The Southeast Ohio Public Energy Council (SOPEC) is a regional Council of Governments that provides public energy services to the Southeast Ohio region. The mission of SOPEC is to provide simple, valuable, and reliable public energy programs. The primary programs provided by SOPEC are to support Community and Customer Choice through governmental energy aggregation and mercantile customer aggregation, energy efficiency development through financing programs, and renewable energy development through technical assistance programs.
SOPEC Leadership
Chris Chmiel
Board of Directors
Chris Chmiel serves as Chair of the SOPEC Board of Directors. He also serves as an Athens County Commissioner, in addition to operating his farm Integration Acres.
Steve Patterson
Board of Directors
Steve Patterson serves as Vice Chair of the SOPEC Board of Directors. Steve has also served as a professor of psychology at Ohio University, served on Athens City Council, and currently serves as Mayor of the City of Athens.
Gary Goosman
Board of Directors
Gary Goosman serves as Secretary and Treasurer of the SOPEC Board of Directors. He also serves as the Mayor of the Village of Amesville and serves as Director of Senior Programs Division of the Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development (COAD).
Renee Brunton
Board of Directors
Renee Brunton serves on the SOPEC Board of Directors. She also serves as the Mayor of the Village of Shawnee.
Greg Fraunfelter
Board of Directors
Greg Fraunfelter represents the City of Logan and Hocking County on the SOPEC Board of Directors. Greg serves as Mayor of the City of Logan.
Eddie Smith
Executive Director
Eddie Smith serves as the Executive Director for SOPEC. Eddie also serves as a Township Trustee in Athens Township, Athens County.
Laura Gilmore
Administrative Assistant
Laura Gilmore serves as the Administrative Assistant for SOPEC. Laura holds 13 years of experience as a social worker with both Children Services and Job and Family Services. Laura has also provided accounting services for Reuse Industries, the Ohio University Innovation Center, and the Hocking College Foundation.
Glenn Krassen
Legal Counsel
Glenn Krassen serves as SOPEC legal counsel. Glenn is a partner at Bricker & Eckler with over 35 years experience in energy and utility practice. Glenn is also an adjunct professor of oil and gas law at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.
Lou Gentile
Membership Development
Lou Gentile specializes in developing SOPEC's local government relations in Southeast Ohio. Lou is a principal for Vory's Advisors. Lou previously served as Senator for Ohio's 30th Senate District.
Sarah Conley-Ballew
Director of UpGrade
Sarah Conley-Ballew serves as the Executive Director of UpGrade, the non-profit outreach partner of SOPEC. Sarah leads program management for the USDA REDA, SolSmart, and Georgetown University Energy Prize programs.
Mat Roberts
UpGrade Information and Outreach
Mat Roberts serves as the Director of Information and Outreach for UpGrade Ohio. Mat provides utility regulation and policy research for SOPEC, and holds a Bachelor's degree from the Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University.