RICHLAND, Wash.
– Energy Northwest’s executive board today named Brad Sawatzke as the agency’s
chief executive officer. Sawatzke has been acting as interim CEO since the departure of Mark Reddemann on March 30.
The board also
appointed Grover Hettel as chief nuclear officer. Hettel previously served as
vice president for Operations. Replacing Hettel as Operations vice president is
Bob Schuetz, who will also continue in his role as Columbia Generating Station’s
plant general manager pending selection of a new plant manager.
In an organizational change,
the EN executive board moved the agency’s hydro, wind and solar operations, as
well as new development and energy business services, under the leadership of
Brent Ridge, who continues as vice president for Corporate Services.
“I am humbled and
honored with this new opportunity,” Sawatzke told the board today. “We have a
talented and capable team, and I’m very enthusiastic about the bright future facing us as a 100 percent clean generator of environmentally safe and affordable
electricity.”
As CEO, Sawatzke
leads an organization of nearly 1,100 men and women who help power the region
through a variety of carbon-free resources, the most prominent of which is the Columbia
Generating Station nuclear power plant. Columbia, near Richland, provides approximately
10 percent of Washington’s electricity, or enough electricity to power one
million homes.
“The executive board
is extremely pleased with Brad’s acceptance to lead the agency,” said executive
board chair Sid Morrison. “His passionate leadership and commitment to
excellence is contagious, which is exactly what we were looking for.”
“We’re confident Brad will ensure this agency
provides the most reliable and cost-effective power and energy solutions to
regional electric customers.”
Prior to today’s appointment,
Sawatzke [full
bio here] served as the agency’s chief operating officer and chief nuclear
officer. Before joining Energy Northwest in 2010, Sawatzke was the director of
site operations at the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant, operated by
Xcel Energy. He worked for Xcel Energy for nearly 29 years.
Sawatzke holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Physics from Winona State University and is a graduate of the Harvard Advanced Management Program. He has also held a reactor operator and senior reactor operator license at the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Monticello, Minn.
He currently serves
on the United Way of Benton & Franklin counties board of directors,
Community Solutions board, and Northwest Public Power Association board of
trustees; and is a member of the Columbia Basin College nuclear technology advisory
board.
Grover Hettel
Prior to today’s
appointment, and since joining Energy Northwest in March 2012, Hettel [full
bio here] served as vice president for Operations. Before joining EN, he
served as Operations director and plant general manager at Palo Verde Nuclear
Generating Station in Phoenix, Ariz.; Maintenance manager and acting plant
general manager at Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station in Homestead, Fla.;
and Maintenance manager and plant general manager at Palisades Nuclear Power
Plant in Covert, Mich.; in addition to leadership positions at Entergy’s
Arkansas Nuclear One in Russellville, Ark., where he held a senior reactor
operators license.
Hettel holds a
bachelor’s degree in engineering from Arkansas Tech University, a master’s
degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas at Little
Rock and is a graduate of the Harvard Advanced Management Program.
Hettel currently serves
on the Regional Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce board of directors. He is a
licensed professional engineer.
Brent Ridge
Brent Ridge [full
bio here] joined Energy Northwest in 2002 and is the vice president for
Corporate Services, and Chief Financial and Risk Officer. In this capacity, he
is responsible for finance; treasury; enterprise risk management; asset
management; human resources; supply chain; information services; and, as of
today, non-nuclear generation assets, energy business services and new
development.
Before joining Energy
Northwest, Ridge was a manager for a construction company specializing in
municipal water treatment plants, and industrial installations at U.S. military
facilities.
Ridge holds a bachelor’s
degree in civil engineering from the University of Idaho, and a master’s degree
in business administration from Regis University. He also completed the Reactor
Technology Course for Utility Executives at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and the Utility Executive Course at the University of Idaho.
Ridge is currently a
member of the Chancellors Advisory Council for Washington State University
Tri-Cities and the local March of Dimes and United Way Boards. He is a past
member of the Tri-City Development Council Board of Directors and former
Chairman of the Board of Columbia Industries.
Bob Schuetz
In addition to
today’s promotion, Schuetz [full
bio here] will temporarily continue his duties as plant general manager for
Columbia Generating Station. He joined Energy Northwest as the Maintenance manager in September 2013. Before joining Energy Northwest, he served in the same
position as part of the employee reverse-loan program with the Institute of
Nuclear Power Operations.
Schuetz served as a
submarine officer in the Navy for 28 years.
He served as commanding officer of the attack submarine U.S.S. Hyman G.
Rickover, and commander of submarine squadrons 17 and 19. His final assignment
was as deputy commander and chief of staff for the commander of Submarine Force
U.S. Pacific Fleet. Upon retirement from the Navy, he was a plant evaluation
team leader at INPO.
Schuetz holds a bachelor of science in nuclear engineering
from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a master of arts in economics from the
University of Oklahoma, and a master of engineering management from Old
Dominion University. He holds senior reactor operator management certifications
on both pressurized and boiling-water reactors, and is a licensed professional
engineer.