PUD commissioners to vote on permanent general manager

EPHRATA — Grant County Public Utility District commissioners will have a vote today to determine whether to appoint current interim general manager/chief executive officer Rich Wallen to the job permanently.

Wallen has been working as the interim GM/CEO since Jan. 1. He replaced Kevin Nordt, who moved to a different job due to health reasons.

Previously, Wallen was the PUD’s chief operations officer.

Board chair Judy Wilson said in a release from the PUD Wallen was chosen for the interim job because he earned the confidence of the commissioners.

“After extensive evaluation and consideration, we believe that it would be best to hold a vote of commissioners to determine if we should remove the interim designation and move forward with Rich at the helm as our GM/CEO,” Wilson wrote in the release.

Wallen has worked for the Grant County PUD since June 2017, when he was hired as managing director of power production. In that role, he oversaw hydropower operations at Wanapum and Priest Rapids dams. He became the chief operations officer in September 2019.