Name Kevin Kolevar | Education University of Michigan | |
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Kevin M. Kolevar is Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy at the Dow Chemical Company. He joined Dow Chemical in 2009 after serving as the Assistant Secretary for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability within the United States Department of Energy. He was confirmed to the position in August 2007. He had led the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability since its creation in February 2005. Kolevar served as chief of staff to the Deputy Secretary of Energy Kyle McSlarrow from January 2003 to January 2005. He also worked as a senior policy advisor to the Secretary of Energy on security and technology issues.
While working at the Department of Energy, he was chair of the Department of Energy National Security Working Group. He also served as an advisor to the U.S.-Canada Task Force investigating the 2003 blackout. Prior joining the Department of Energy, he spent over ten years serving as a member of United States Senate staff in the offices of Senators Spencer Abraham and Connie Mack III. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan.
Assistant Secretary of Energy for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability
On behalf of the Secretary of Energy, Kolevar coordinated energy response efforts with the energy industry and other federal agencies after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. His office collected, analyzed, and disseminated vital information to all involved in the response and restoration efforts and served in a coordinating role for the energy sector.
Kolevar made the announcement that the Department of Energy would invest nearly $20 million for plug-in hybrid vehicle research. In collaboration with the United States Advanced Battery Consortium, five projects were given $17.2 million in funding and awards for plug-in hybrid vehicle battery development projects. $2 million was given to the University of Michigan to coordinate the study. Kolevar said that the Bush administration's interest in plug-in hybrid vehicles came about as a result of rising oil prices.