JAMES LARSEN

MARQUETTE — James Larsen has been appointed the new chief executive officer of Upper Peninsula Power Co. effective April 3.

Larsen comes to UPPCO from SEMCO Energy Gas Co. in Port Huron, where he served as president. SEMCO provides natural gas to approximately 290,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers across the state.

“Jim knows exactly what it takes to safely and efficiently run a utility across a large service area like UPPCO’s,” said Rob Gregor, UPPCO board chairman. “His depth and breadth of experience will ensure that UPPCO can continue to deliver safe, reliable energy to our customers.”

During his 17 years at SEMCO, Larsen held a number of positions before being appointed president in 2010. Prior to SEMCO, he held a series of engineering and operational management positions over a 10 year period at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL) near Saratoga, N.Y. This company was operated by GE and Lockheed Martin and was responsible for the design, testing and training of U.S. Navy nuclear reactors.

In addition, Larsen successfully completed Navy Nuclear Power School in the officer class. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Clarkston University and a master of business administration degree from the University of Colorado.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to continue to serve the people of the Upper Peninsula,” Larsen said. “My focus has always been on employee and customer satisfaction and I look forward to building relationships with the residents and businesses we serve.”

UPPCO serves approximately 54,000 retail customers located in 10 out of the 15 Upper Peninsula counties. UPPCO owns and operates nine generation facilties.