The Energy Northwest Board of Directors elected a new inside director to the Executive Board, a new president and officers at its Jan. 22 public meeting in Olympia, Wash.
Dave McKenzie, Skamania County Public Utility District Commissioner, was elected as one of five inside directors of the Energy Northwest Executive Board and will serve through 2026.
McKenzie was elected to the Skamania County PUD in 2016. He was appointed to the Energy Northwest Board of Directors in January 2017 and has served as president of the Board of Directors since 2022.
McKenzie has more than 40 years of experience in the private and public sectors which include banking, real estate and appraising complex commercial and industrial properties. He was also the mayor of Stevenson for 20 years.
The Board of Directors elected Jerry Asmussen, Okanogan County PUD, as president; Shan Rowbotham, Kittitas County PUD, as vice president; Clint Whitney, City of Richland, as secretary; and Ken Hays, Clallam County PUD, as assistant secretary.
The Board of Directors officers each serve a two-year term.
Asmussen was elected to his second term as PUD Commissioner for Okanogan County PUD in 2023 and was appointed to the EN Board of Directors in 2017. Asmussen is a rancher and auctioneer from Tonasket, Washington, who has lived in Okanogan County for most of his life. He has degrees in agriculture, economics and animal science from Washington State University.
Rowbotham, Kittitas County PUD, has served as a commissioner since 2011. He was appointed to the EN Board of Directors in 2014.
In his role as gas manager for the City of Ellensburg he managed wholesale energy procurement for both the light and natural gas utilities, and large customer billings.
He was also the conservation manager and managed the city’s community solar project. Prior to joining the City of Ellensburg, Rowbotham worked for more than 20 years in the propane industry.
Whitney became the City of Richland’s Energy Services director in April 2018 and was also appointed to the EN Board of Directors at that time. Whitney has worked in public service for 21 years in a variety of electrical engineering, operations and management positions. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering, a master’s in business administration degree and is a licensed professional engineer in Washington.
Hays was elected as a PUD Commissioner for Clallam County PUD in 2023 and was appointed to the EN Board of Directors at that time. He is a registered and licensed architect with a practice based in Sequim since 1988.
His professional experience in the private and public sectors includes programming, design, project budget development, construction, and facilities management. Hays’ public service includes two terms on the Sequim City Council from 2008 to 2016, and served as mayor from 2010 to 2014.
Energy Northwest’s Executive Board has 11 members: five elected from the agency’s Board of Directors, three appointed by the Board of Directors from outside EN, and the remaining three appointed by the governor of Washington. The Executive Board sets the policies that govern the operations of Energy Northwest.
Energy Northwest's Board of Directors has 29 member representatives; one representative for each of the 24 public utility districts and five municipal utilities that comprise Energy Northwest.
Energy Northwest is a Washington state public power joint operating agency. Energy Northwest comprises 29 public power member utilities, serving more than 1.5 million customers, and provides its members and regional customers with power generation and innovative energy and business solutions.
The agency owns and operates hydroelectric, solar, battery storage, wind and the Northwest's only nuclear power facility. Energy Northwest also actively supports transportation electrification and new generation projects to the benefit of public power.
