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ROCHESTER — Jeremy Sutton will join Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA) on March 1 as the director of operations and chief operating officer.

He replaces Mark Mitchell who is retiring from SMMPA on March 29 after over 40 years in the electric industry and nearly 13 years with SMMPA.

Prior to joining SMMPA, Sutton was at Rochester Public Utilities (RPU) where, since 2005, he has held several positions of increasing responsibility. Most recently, Sutton served as director of power resources and chief energy supply officer. While at RPU, Sutton took a lead role in the planning, development and construction of RPU’s 46-megawatt Westside Energy Station and RPU’s 10- megawatt solar farm. Sutton was also responsible for the development and implementation of RPU’s notable long-term resource plan which targets 100% renewable energy supply for RPU by 2030.

Prior to joining RPU, Sutton worked in the hydrogen production industry and served in the United States Marine Corps.

“We look forward to having Jeremy join the SMMPA team.” said SMMPA Chief Executive Officer Dave Geschwind. “Jeremy is a proven utility leader who is very familiar with SMMPA, and he has established relationships with our member utilities. Jeremy’s strong background in operations, resource planning, and project development make him a great fit for this position. We know Jeremy will hit the ground running when he arrives.”

Geschwind also congratulated Mark Mitchell on a career that has been dedicated to public power utilities.