Raiford Smith leads the Corporate Development and Planning functions for CPS Energy, one of the nation’s largest municipally-owned utilities with over 730,000 electric customers and 325,000 gas customers.  CPS Energy is vertically integrated and includes generation, transmission and distribution, and retail services with annual revenues of over $2 billion and total assets of over $10 billion.

Mr. Smith and his team are responsible for corporate strategy, integrated resource planning, load forecasting, products and services (energy efficiency, demand response, and solar distributed generation), smart grid deployment, and research & development.  

Mr. Smith has 24 years of experience in the energy industry, including various roles in legal, smart grid, customer management, energy efficiency, pricing and rates, product development, wholesale deal structuring, mergers and acquisitions, and technology. 

A native of Savannah, GA., Mr. Smith earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from the University of Georgia, a Masters of Business Administration degree from the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia, and a Juris Doctor from the Charlotte School of Law.

Mr. Smith is a licensed attorney and member of the North Carolina Bar Association; holds several patents on grid optimization and electric grid technologies; has published several papers on the future of the smart grid, energy efficiency, asset optimization, and price forecasting; has earned his Six Sigma Green Belt certification; is the past vice chairman of the board for the Southeastern Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA); is a former board member of the Midwestern Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA); and is a recipient of the Southeastern Electric Exchange Industry Excellence Award in the category of rates and regulation.