Grant PUD general manager leaving for Georgia job

EPHRATA — Grant County Public Utility District General Manager Rich Wallen has announced his resignation from the PUD to take a new job in Georgia.  

Wallen will take the job of chief operating officer and executive vice president at Oglethorpe Power in Tucker, Ga. Wallen worked there from 2014 to 2017.  

Utility district commission chair Terry Pyle said replacing Wallen will be on the agenda at the regular commission meeting Tuesday.  

“We are meeting next week to determine our steps,” Pyle said via email. 

“It was (Wallen’s) decision,” said Christine Pratt, PUD public information officer, and Pyle confirmed that.  

“Rich has been communicating with us about his interest in the Oglethorpe Power position,” Pyle wrote in a press release announcing Wallen’s resignation. “We are grateful for his leadership at Grant PUD and the improvements he made here.” 

Wallen wrote in an Oglethorpe Power press release that he was looking forward to the new job. 

“It is a privilege to return to Oglethorpe Power and serve Georgia’s electric cooperative with the reliable and cost-effective energy millions of Georgians rely on,” he said.  

Annalisa Bloodworth, Oglethorpe Power chief executive officer, wrote she thought Wallen would be a good addition. 

“Rich is a dynamic, results-driven and innovative leader, and his broad experience uniquely complements Oglethorpe Power’s diverse and growing generation portfolio,” she said.  

Wallen joined the Grant County PUD in 2017 as the managing director of power production. He was named chief operating officer in 2019 and general manager in February 2022.  

He announced he was leaving in May 2024 to take a job as chief operating officer at the Chelan County PUD, but the commissioners announced later that month he would be staying.  

At that time, Commissioner Tom Flint said rumors that Wallen did not have the support of the commissioners were untrue, and that they had never asked him to resign. Pyle read a statement during that meeting that Wallen had the full support of the commission. He also cautioned against gossip and rumors. 

Oglethorpe Power provides electricity to 38 electric membership cooperatives throughout the state, according to its website. The cooperatives are private, not-for-profit organizations that are formed to deliver power to their customers at cost. Oglethorpe Power operates two nuclear power facilities, one hydropower project, 13 natural gas generation facilities and one coal-fired facility, according to its website.