Jan Ahlen is the vice president, Utility Research & Policy at CFC. In this position, Ahlen leads the Federal Relations and Industry Research & Analysis teams. Prior to joining CFC, Ahlen held senior positions at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). As director of Energy Solutions, he led NRECA initiatives on distributed energy resources (DER). He also managed a portfolio of research projects, delivered strategic advice to cooperatives and served as liaison to outside stakeholder groups. A frequent speaker at utility industry events, Ahlen promoted future utility business models and successful DER deployments. Ahlen also served as senior regulatory affairs manager for NRECA and was responsible for representing rural electric cooperatives before various federal agencies. In this role, Ahlen was NRECA’s subject matter expert in retail rate design, emerging utility business models, grid modernization and retail market design. Prior to joining NRECA, Ahlen served as the energy lobbyist for the National Farmers Union.
Ahlen holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA from Johns Hopkins University.