Don Kom

Mr. Kom serves as the Director of the Ames Municipal Electric System where he plans, directs, and coordinates the overall operations of the City of Ames municipal electric utility. He received a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 1986 from the University of Minnesota. In 1987 he also received a commission in the United States Air Force and was appointed a Second Lieutenant. Mr. Kom has over 30 years of experience in electric utility engineering, transmission, generation, trading operations and management areas. While at Ames, he successfully lead two power plant conversion projects from coal-fired operation to natural gas-fired operation, and completed a project to integrate the Ames electrical system into the region transmission grid through the construction of a high voltage transmission project between Ames and Ankeny, Iowa. Under Mr. Kom leadership the utility operates one of the few waste-to-energy facilities in the country, has added wind generation to the city’s portfolio, and is bringing solar energy to the community. Outside of work, Mr. Kom has served on several non-profit organization boards at the state and federal level. He currently serves on the ACTORS board, a local community theater in Ames, and on the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities Board of Directors.

Prior to coming to AMES, Mr. Kom served as the Executive Director of Central Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (“CMMPA”), a municipal joint action agency located in Minnesota. While with CMMPA he helped form the Midwest Municipal Transmission Group (MMTG), and served as the group’s first chairman. In his capacities as MMTG Chairman and CMMPA Executive Director, he worked with municipal electric and cooperative utilities throughout the upper Midwest on power supply and transmission access and procurement and has testified before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Wisconsin Public Service Commission, and the Iowa Utilities Board.

In 2016, Lt Col. Kom, retired from the Air Force Reserves after serving 28 years. He participated in Desert Shield/Desert Storm at Prince Sultan Air Base as a Civil Engineering and Disaster Preparedness Officer. He has served assignments at other bases throughout his career as a Civil Engineering Squadron commander, Chief of the Command Post, and Inspector General. He has received Meritorious, Commendation, and Achievement medals, with oak leaf clusters, from both the Air Force and the Army.