Chelan County PUD's 75th anniversary and National Public Power Week

The power puzzle:
Where do we fit in?

7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 4
Van Tassell Center
Wenatchee Valley College

         

Chelan County PUD
News release
Sept. 23, 2011

Where does Chelan PUD fit in the energy puzzle?

Pieces of the local and national power puzzle will be connected by two guest speakers at a free evening presentation at Wenatchee Valley College on Oct. 4 during Public Power Week.

Chelan County PUD General Manager John Janney will be joined by energy and natural resources lawyer Craig Gannett of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Seattle, to explore topics including the future of hydropower, energy costs, national energy policy, fisheries and what’s ahead for joint operation of the Columbia River by Canada and the United States.

Co-sponsored by the college and the PUD, the discussion starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4, at Van Tassell Center on the college campus. Refreshments will be served.

“This will be a good opportunity for people to ask questions about local or national energy issues,” said Janney. “Much is changing with wind and solar development, shifting energy markets and the need to keep our energy systems reliable and affordable,” Janney added. He and Gannett will offer perspective on various parts of the energy puzzle and answer questions from the audience for an ongoing discussion.

The program is part of Chelan County PUD’s 2011 celebration of its 75th anniversary. Earlier this summer, more than 700 people also helped celebrate Rocky Reach Dam’s 50^th birthday at a ceremony at the dam.

Janney first joined Chelan PUD in 2007 and served in the combined role of chief financial officer and chief risk officer from 2008 until August 2010, when he was named PUD general manager. He directed development of the utility’s new financial policies, recently adopted by the Board of Commissioners as part of long-term strategic planning. A native of Deer Lodge, Mont., Janney began his career in banking and served at the Boston Federal Reserve Bank and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. He returned to the west in 1995, and has worked at several public utilities and energy companies including Idaho Power and Arizona Public Service. 

Gannett works on energy and natural resources issues regionally and nationally from his base in Seattle. He is a frequent lecturer on climate change policy and hydropower relicensing and is a former senior counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. He is also the co-founder and former co-chair of "Buying and Selling Electricity in the West," an annual energy conference. Craig also teaches Climate Change Law and Policy at the University of Washington’s School of Law, and U.S. Energy Policy at the UW’s Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies.