Fortnightly Under Forty: Aaron Curtis

Of the 64 rising stars, we selected eleven of them to highlight. These eleven exemplify the impressive record and pace of accomplishments of the best of our industry's next generation. The inspiring stories of Haben Goitom of Alliant Energy, Jennifer Wischnowsky of Ameren, Keegan Odle of Burns & McDonnell, Delevane Diaz of EPRI, Sean Meredith of Entergy, Illinois Commissioner Maria Bocanegra, Aaron Curtis of ITC, Ana Stachowiak of NYPA, Lisa Dailey of Northfork Electric Cooperative, Abbey Roy of Southern Company, and Brian Van Abel of Xcel Energy are told in part in the interviews that follow. These unique up-and-comers are already leading the industry's transformation and mission-critical groups within their organizations, in some cases as a COO, CFO or division VP.

PUF: Tell us about your job and the Cardinal-Hickory Creek project.

Aaron Curtis: I'm a Senior Project Manager, working on the development and construction of transmission line and substation projects in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Withthe scope of it in the utility world, it's definitely a once-in-a-lifetime project. We're working with two other utilities in two states and working through a federal environmental review process.

I'm fortunate to be leading the project. It's been a challenging yet rewarding project and I appreciate ITC's leadership and their trust in me.

I was the assistant project manager for a little while before taking over. When I started with the company, I worked closely with the former lead project manager here at ITC Midwest. Then he retired and, because I had the background already with the project, I was chosen to take over. I didn't take that lightly.

Knowing the scope and the complexity of the project, I dove right into it. I've been fortunate to work with such a great team over the last six years. It has been their expertise and guidance that has gotten the project to where it is now.

This is the last of the MISO MVP projects in the Midwest. That's another unique aspect of the project. There were seventeen projects approved and even though it's denoted as MVP 5, it's the last project that will go in service.

PUF: It's three hundred and forty-five kilovolts, approximately one hundred miles, and it's over the Mississippi River. How does that work? The Mississippi River isn't a little stream.

Aaron Curtis: The teams started the project in 2012. The project underwent an extensive study and analysis over many years with close coordination with different federal, state, and local agencies to determine the preferred crossing of the river and how we could mitigate or reduce impacts to these important resources. 

It's been an iterative process from one step to the next, trying to get to the final result. We are almost there. In February of this year, the Rural Utilities Service, along with the USFWS, Army Corps of Engineers, and U.S. EPA, completed their environmental impact statement and issued a Record of Decision for the Project.

It's a robust document that has a ton of information evaluating nearly every aspect of the project from an environmental standpoint. 

We're still working through some of the regulatory requirements on the Iowa side of the project. We're hoping some of that will get concluded in the next couple of months.

PUF: You've also got a fifty-mile project.

Aaron Curtis: Yes, Huntley to Wilmarth in Minnesota. We're working with Xcel Energy on that one. We own half of the project and they own the other half.

Xcel Energy is the primary entity leading most of the pre-construction, real estate, and all the heavy tasks, including construction. 

But with a project that size, fifty miles, three hundred and forty-five kilovolts, there's still quite a bit of work to do. It's coming along well, too. We're anticipating the project will start construction this year.

PUF: You graduated six years ago. What led you to this role?

Aaron Curtis: I started with ITC Midwest right out of school. I took some project management courses in college and found it fit with my strengths more than a typical engineering route.

I was fortunate that I got into project management right out of college. Typically, with some companies, you would try to build toward a project management role, as you are given more authority.

I was given that authority early in my career. As an outsider coming into the industry, I had an open mind toward new processes and trying to seek creative solutions.

While some of these ideas were not viable in practice, people started to catch on that I was making an effort, and I was willing to put myself out there. 

Being able to work effectively with people, understanding people, being organized, and self-sufficient are all things that I strive to do. I try to listen and hear people out because if someone's not being listened to properly, they're not empowered. My style of management might be different, but I tend to see the best in the people working on projects and work to achieve agreeable solutions.

PUF: You're also pursuing your MBA at the University of Iowa.

Aaron Curtis: Yes. It was something I've been looking to do for a long time, and I've been trying to determine how I want my career to progress.

There's no better time than the present. I thought an MBA would complement my engineering background. In the engineering world you don't get a lot of management-type interactions or business negotiations, so you're coming at it from a different angle. This will help me become more well-rounded in things other than technical engineering.

PUF: Where are you aiming long term?

Aaron Curtis: That's an interesting question because within the last two weeks, I've accepted another position within the company that will provide some growth opportunities. I've been on the project management side for six and a half years now, but in my new role I will be a Stakeholder Relations representative, with the responsibility for maintaining good working relationships with our customers, including investor-owned utilities, electric cooperatives, and municipal utilities. I took this new role within ITC Midwest to focus on the business side of our company.

I'm eager to start this new path to find opportunities to solve problems and provide benefits to our customers, while at the same time continuing to be involved with capital projects. I'm excited for what's to come.

Of the 64 rising stars, we selected eleven of them to highlight. These eleven exemplify the impressive record and pace of accomplishments of the best of our industry's next generation. The inspiring stories of Haben Goitom of Alliant Energy, Jennifer Wischnowsky of Ameren, Keegan Odle of Burns & McDonnell, Delevane Diaz of EPRI, Sean Meredith of Entergy, Illinois Commissioner Maria Bocanegra, Aaron Curtis of ITC, Ana Stachowiak of NYPA, Lisa Dailey of Northfork Electric Cooperative, Abbey Roy of Southern Company, and Brian Van Abel of Xcel Energy are told in part in the interviews that follow. These unique up-and-comers are already leading the industry's transformation and mission-critical groups within their organizations, in some cases as a COO, CFO or division VP.