Purpose, Connection, and Mutual Respect
For the past 10 years, Linda Apsey has led Michigan-headquartered ITC Holdings Corp. as its CEO, having joined the company as a founding member in 2003. In March, she retired after more than three decades in the electric power industry.
She recently spoke with Electric Perspectives to reflect on her career and the culture she has worked to instill at ITC.
Electric Perspectives (EP): What are some of your proudest accomplishments from your 23 years at ITC Holdings and 32 years in the industry?
Linda Apsey (LA): One of my proudest accomplishments was making the decision to join ITC 23 years ago. ITC pioneered the independent transmission company model in the United States, emerging from the divestiture of transmission assets and growing into a leading owner and operator of high‑voltage electric infrastructure. At the time, making that move felt like a significant risk.
Still, I believed deeply in ITC’s vision and in what we were trying to build. I chose to take the risk, fully knowing that failure simply wasn’t an option. That decision not only shaped my career but also instilled a lasting sense of ownership and accountability.
That shared commitment became foundational to ITC’s culture, which is something I am incredibly proud of having had a part in creating.
EP: What are the biggest policy shifts that you have seen during your career?
LA: ITC was born out of one of the most significant policy shifts I’ve seen in my career from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). FERC Order No. 888 required utilities that owned transmission to provide open, non‑discriminatory access to their systems.
At the time, there was a view that vertically integrated utilities could favor their own generation by limiting transmission access. As a result, the policy encouraged functional—and, ultimately, structural—separation between generation and transmission. That shift set the stage for DTE Energy (formerly Detroit Edison) to divest its transmission assets and led to the creation of ITC.
With that singular focus on transmission, ITC had a unique perspective early on. From the beginning, we engaged in public and regulatory policy, helping shape conversations about what the future of transmission should look like. Regulators paid attention.
Many of the policies in place today around transmission planning, cost allocation, and investment incentives were informed by our early leadership and advocacy.
ITC President and CEO Linda Apsey testified before the Senate Budget Committee on July 31, 2023, highlighting the increasing need for infrastructure investment and the role policymakers can play in streamlining permitting and planning.
EP: How do we expand America’s transmission capacity to meet rising energy demand?
LA: Expanding America’s transmission capacity really starts with proactive, long‑term planning. We need to be honest about where demand is headed and make smart investments now in the infrastructure that will give us flexibility and efficiency in the future.
When we try to cut corners or delay those decisions, it doesn’t save money. It almost always pushes costs and constraints on customers down the road—and that’s not acceptable.
Policymakers, regulators, and industry leaders are increasingly recognizing that the best way to address affordability concerns is to invest in more generation and more transmission. That means modernizing the regulatory and permitting process so major transmission projects can move forward more efficiently with greater certainty and fewer delays.
Proactive planning, regulatory certainty, and sustained investment are how we build the grid of the future.
EP: How have you seen the industry’s focus on resilience evolve over the years?
LA: When ITC was first established, we acquired transmission assets that had seen little meaningful investment for 30 to 40 years. They required significant attention. Early on, we made a deliberate decision that if we were going to be a standalone, transmission‑only company, we needed to be exceptional at what we do.
Over decades of sustained investment and maintenance, we significantly improved the performance of those assets. Systems that were once third‑ or fourth‑quartile performers from a reliability standpoint have been transformed into top‑quartile— and, in many cases, top‑decile— performers today. That long‑term commitment to investment ultimately paid off when rebuilt portions of ITC’s 138‑kilovolt transmission lines in northern Michigan withstood the ice storm in spring 2025. The powerful winter system moved across much of northern and parts of south‑central Michigan, bringing severe ice accumulation and widespread outages, marking the most severe system damage in ITC Michigan’s history. Working around the clock, ITC, in coordination with distribution utilities and Michigan’s State Emergency Operations Center, repaired damage to impacted portions of the system. These restoration efforts were most recently recognized by EEI with a 2025 Emergency Response Award.
On December 16, 2023, ITC President and CEO Linda Apsey received an honorary Doctor of Business degree from Michigan State University, where she also delivered the Fall 2023 Commencement Address to graduating students across multiple colleges.
EP: Who or what has been a source of inspiration to you throughout your career?
LA: A major source of inspiration for me was ITC’s founder and first CEO, Joe Welch. Our paths first crossed at Detroit Edison, where he took me under his wing and became a mentor for much of my career. He was a visionary leader whose bold decisions and deep commitment to both the business and our people helped define ITC in its earliest days and shape the company it is today.
I was deeply saddened by his passing in the summer of 2025. Joe’s passion for the critical infrastructure we build and maintain, along with his unwavering focus on our employees, served as a constant guide when I stepped into the role of CEO in 2016. I remain grateful for the time we shared and for the belief he had in me.
EP: What can you say about the culture you've fostered at ITC Holdings Corp.?
LA: During my time at ITC, the thing I’m most proud of is the culture we’ve built, and, just as importantly, how intentional we’ve been about it. Culture doesn’t happen by accident. It takes focus, consistency, and a shared commitment to what really matters.
When I look at our values—being better together, driving value for those we serve, maintaining an unwavering commitment to safety, taking an enterprising approach, and leading with integrity and responsibility—I don’t see them as words on a wall. I see them as something that truly anchors who we are, both collectively as a company and individually. Those values guide how we show up every day, how we treat one another, and how we make decisions, especially as we look to the future.
History has also played an important role in shaping who we are. The elements that defined ITC in its early days like the grit, the sense of purpose, and the willingness to do things differently, are still very much a part of our identity today. We’ve held onto those foundational traits while continuing to evolve and I think that balance has been incredibly important.
One thing I’ve always cared deeply about is fostering a true culture of belonging. I want every employee to feel they can be successful and that they are supported along the way. We are invested in the employee experience, and, in return, our employees are invested in the company. That sense of shared success is incredibly powerful.
As I pass the baton to the next generation of leaders and employees, I hope they take all the best things we’ve created and build on them. If they can hold onto that “secret sauce”—the sense of purpose, connection, and mutual respect—I believe ITC will continue to be a place where people feel motivated, inspired, and proud of the work they do.
