Two Washington State public utility district leaders were presented national awards this week during the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Public Power Connect: Virtual Summit & Business Meeting.
George Caan, Executive Director at the Washington Public Utility Districts Association in Olympia received the James D. Donovan Individual Achievement Award for significant contributions to public power.
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According to APPA’s description, the James D. Donovan award “recognizes people who have made substantial contributions to the electric utility industry, with a special commitment to public power.” The last Washington PUD leader to receive this award was Mark Reddemann of Richland’s Energy Northwest in 2018.
In a statement accompanying the awarding, the APPA wrote:
George’s leadership, knowledge, intelligence, and commitment to good public policy has helped shape public power throughout his 40-year career. His many contributions to public power include developing and implementing the first-of-its-kind energy conservation and renewable energy program for the City of Boston in Massachusetts, developing a program to demonstrate energy-efficient technologies in new commercial buildings, and creating an energy idea clearinghouse to promote information sharing on energy efficiency and utility-related issues in the age before the internet.”
Joining Caan among Washington State awardees, Chelan County PUD General Manager Steve Wright received the Alan H. Richardson Statesmanship Award.
This award recognizes public power leaders who “work to achieve consensus on national issues important to public power utilities.” Established in 2017, Wright is the first PUD leader from Washington State to win this award.
Wright is credited for partnering with industry associations, including APPA, for the last twelve years. In the past year, he has presented to groups such as the Public Power Council, the Northwest Hydropower Association, the Keystone Energy Board.
Sounding off the elements of his record that led to this award, APPA cited Wright’s advocacy and collaborative approach.
[Steve] Wright has strongly advocated for the advancement of APPA positions on key topics, including hydropower relicensing, energy efficiency and climate change. Working closely with the Northwest Congressional Delegation and a broad collection of regional stakeholders, Wright has also cultivated a unified voice in the Northwest for ongoing Columbia River Treaty negotiations. Steve is mindful of public power customers’ interests and what protects the long- term stability of the region.”
A service organization founded in 1940, the APPA represents 1,400 of the approximately 2,000 U.S. community-owned electric utilities serving over 49 million people.
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