Meet Jason Otwell, manager of distribution advanced network planning in the System Planning and Operations organization, based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Jason Otwell
Otwell is a proud Arkansan native who earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Arkansas in 2006. He later completed his master’s degree in systems and engineering management from Texas Tech University in 2011.
He joined Entergy Arkansas, LLC, in 2006 as a distribution design engineer, where he focused on pole-line and equipment designs for new customer services along with maintenance and reliability projects. In 2008, he transitioned into a role as a distribution asset planning engineer, performing load forecasts, contingency analyses, protection studies and power quality studies across the system.
By 2017, Otwell stepped into a senior project manager role, leading major efforts to improve reliability and power quality for Entergy Arkansas’ large industrial customers. He also played a role in supporting economic development initiatives across the state.
In 2019, Otwell was promoted into his current position as manager of distribution advanced network planning. In this role, he spearheaded the creation of a new department dedicated to integrating, planning and supporting distributed energy resources across all five Entergy operating companies. Today, he leads a team of engineers responsible for analyzing distributed energy resource requests from our customers and improving processes for power system modeling, automation and load forecasting.
“My team plays a critical role in building the advanced network capabilities needed for our future grid,” Otwell said. “It’s rewarding to lead work that supports our customers and drives reliability, modernization and continued growth of distributed energy resources across our service territories.”
One of Otwell’s most meaningful accomplishments was serving as a special projects branch supervisor during Hurricane Laura in 2020. In that role, he worked with vendors to assist the town of Hackberry on the Louisiana coast by using backup generators to power the town’s grid, restoring power to its substation. He continues to be recognized for his leadership and technical expertise. Otwell is a licensed professional engineer in Arkansas, a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and was inducted into the Arkansas Academy of Electrical Engineering in 2025.
When asked about his favorite part of working at Entergy, Otwell points to the people and the purpose. “I get to work with talented, driven individuals who are deeply passionate about what they do. Knowing that our work strengthens the grid and supports our customers and communities across multiple states makes it incredibly fulfilling.”
Outside of work, Otwell enjoys sports, hunting, fishing, camping and just about anything that gets him outdoors. He and his wife, Kelly, live in Benton, Arkansas, where they are raising their two children.
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