Description
EUGENE WATER & ELECTRIC BOARD
GENERAL MANAGER
EWEB is the largest publicly owned electric and water utility in the state of Oregon. The utility has approximately 575 employees, one-third of which are represented by organized labor. EWEB is governed by a five-member Board of Commissioners who are elected by voters residing in the City. The Electric System supplies service to 100,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers within the City of Eugene and areas along the McKenzie River between the cities of Walterville and Vida where two of EWEB’s hydropower plants are located. The total service area covers 236-square-miles. The Electric System owns and operates approximately 1,150 circuit miles of overhead and underground distribution lines, 134 circuit miles of transmission lines, and 38 distribution substations. Power delivered to customers is supplied by Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) contracts, EWEB-owned generation resources, other contracted resources, and purchases from the wholesale energy markets. EWEB’s power supply sources are primarily hydropower but also include wind, biomass, steam, and solar.
The source of supply for the Water System is the McKenzie River. Water intake and purification of water occurs at the Hayden Bridge Water Filtration Plant. In addition to the filtration plant, the Water System owns and operates 23 storage tanks, 25 pump stations, and approximately 800 miles of transmission and distribution mains. The Water System provides water service to 55,000 residential and general service customers within the EWEB service territory and supplies wholesale water to the River Road and Santa Clara water districts outside Eugene. In addition, EWEB has surplus water contracts with the City of Veneta and the Willamette Water Company.
EUGENE WATER & ELECTRIC BOARD
The City of Eugene commenced utility operations in 1908 with the purchase of a privately-owned water system. In 1911, upon completion of the City’s first municipal hydroelectric power plant, the City organized the Eugene Water Board to operate the City’s electric and water utilities. The name of the Eugene Water Board was changed to the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) in 1949. EWEB is not considered a component unit of the City. It is governed by a five-member Board of Commissioners who are elected by voters residing in the City. The Board of Commissioners has authority to set prices for water and electric services.
Nearly 80 percent of EWEB’s power comes from hydroelectric projects. Currently, the Bonneville Power Administration provides approximately 75% of EWEB’s power supply needs. EWEB owns and operates four hydroelectric projects: Leaburg, Walterville, Stone Creek, and Carmen-Smith. The Carmen-Smith Hydroelectric Project is the largest utility-owned power source and is currently undergoing a relicensing effort. EWEB also has power purchase agreements for biomass and wind energy, operates its own energy trading floor, and offers robust conservation, energy efficiency, and demand-side management programs. Over the next decade, EWEB will need to evaluate and potentially reimagine their power supply portfolio to address changes in the industry that include time-of-use consumption, distributed generation, demand response, and other evolving technologies.
EWEB holds three water rights permits on the McKenzie River for up to 194 million gallons per day (MGD). EWEB also holds approximately 20 MGD of water rights on the Willamette River which it plans to use for a second water source.
EWEB's Hayden Bridge Plant is a complete filtration and treatment facility with a sustained peak production capacity of 72 MGD. For reliability and resiliency, EWEB is constructing a new drinking water treatment plant on the Willamette River and replacing aging infrastructure.
In 2025, EWEB’s Operations & Maintenance and Capital & Debt Service budgets for both Utilities is $489.6 million. Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch have assigned the following ratings to EWEB’s electric debt: Aa2, AA-, and AA-. Water debt is rated at Aa2, AA, AA+. More information on EWEB can be found at: http://eweb.org/
EUGENE, OREGON
The City of Eugene covers 43.6-square-miles in Lane County at the southern end of the Willamette Valley. Eugene is an hour east of the Pacific Ocean and about the same distance west of the Cascade Mountains. It is the second largest city in the state, with a population of approximately 179,000. The University of Oregon and Lane Community College reside in Eugene.
Winter in the Cascade Mountains offers snowshoeing, skiing, snowboarding, snow camping, and snowmobiling at Willamette Pass, Hoodoo Mountain Resort, or Mount Bachelor Ski Resort. In the summer, there are many hiking trails and camping sites next to clear blue mountain lakes. Also close by is Salt Creek Falls, the second highest waterfall in Oregon.
The cost-of-living in Eugene is estimated at 106.6% of the national average. The Eugene area offers a wide variety of housing opportunities. New and existing homes are easy to find in a variety of communities and locations. For more information, please visit: http://www.eugenechamber.com/
http://www.eugene-or.gov/portal/server.pt
Requirements
The General Manager reports to the Board of Commissioners and is responsible for carrying out executive duties to ensure the effective management and operation of all water and electric utility activities. The current General Manager, Mr. Frank Lawson, has served in this role since 2016 and announced his plans to retire in the Spring of 2026.
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABLITIES
- Provide the leadership and management necessary to direct the utility to fulfill the mission, goals, objectives, policies, and budgets established by the Board of Commissioners and in accordance with pertinent laws and regulations. Provide leadership that encourages and holds staff accountable to carry out the duties required to fulfill the utility’s mission.
- Create a compelling vision and strategy to ensure long-term success and positive organizational progress and change; Develop and recommend short- and long-range plans and goals and associated budgets to ensure adequate power and water supplies, reliable service delivery, sufficient physical plants, reliable infrastructure, efficient operational methods, and sound fiscal, business and process management.
- Provide recommendations to the Board regarding rates and policies to ensure revenues and available financial resources sufficient to meet EWEBs cost of operation, required expansion or improvements, and other expenditures at the most reasonable cost. Ensure the Board is sufficiently informed in a timely fashion of any emerging or unanticipated economic conditions potentially affecting EWEB financials.
- Maintain consistent and on-going communication with the Board. Ensure the Board is fully appraised of trends, regulatory changes, developing legislation and leading opinions regarding the utility industry. Lead the workforce to position EWEB to respond as changing industry conditions and energy markets dictate. Ensure the Board is sufficiently advised of any material shifts in the focus or management of significant or strategic EWEB operations or programs.
- Responsible for the management and continued development of the utility’s workforce including the negotiation and administration of labor agreements and employment policies, implementation and administration of new employment practices and programs. Guide and authorize appropriate compensation, benefits, and employment programs to ensure the Utility’s continued ability to attract and retain a skilled workforce.
- Work directly with the EWEB leadership to delegate duties, plan for the future of the utility, devise and execute strategic objectives and utility programs, and cultivate a culture based on the values of the organization including safety, reliability, affordability, environmental stewardship, and community focus. Translate Board direction to utility leadership through clear and meaningful objectives and performance measures. Establish and utilize a leadership and work-force reporting structure to enable operational effectiveness, efficiencies, and accountability. Carry out supervisory responsibilities over direct reports in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Ensure key staff development and establish succession contingencies through training as necessary or appropriate.
- Represent EWEB in communities served by the utility. Ensure effective communication with EWEB customers, employees, suppliers, partners, and the general public. Represent and promote the needs and objectives of EWEB. Work with officials at the local, county, state, and federal level as well as other utilities and industry organizations to represent and promote the needs and objectives of EWEB.
- Demonstrate support for the Board and its direction. Resolve conflicts between different constituents following review of their positions and interests. Act as a steward for EWEB’s volunteer and community service efforts and lead by example.
THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE
Fully qualified candidates will offer five years’ experience as chief/executive director of a publicly owned multi-service utility. Candidates can also offer ten years of related utility experience with five years at a senior management level in a complex public agency or private company with at least 300 employees. This experience should include knowledge of the rules and practices for operating under a Board of Commissioners as well as the principles, practices, laws, ordinances, techniques, methods, and terminology related to executive management in the electric and water utility industries.
Of paramount importance is leadership capabilities. Candidates must be visionaries who are familiar with competitive issues facing the electric and water industries with the ability to develop and implement strategies, work plans, financial forecasts, and budgets to help EWEB navigate opportunities and trends. He or she should be familiar with the principles and practices of strategic planning, deployment, and organizational alignment (e.g., Hoshi Kanri, Policy Deployment, Balanced Scorecard).
The General Manager must also possess the ability to guide EWEB in addressing power supply opportunities. Exposure to, and established relationships within, the Northwest marketplace are considered beneficial.
The General Manager must be of the highest integrity with a commitment to customer service.
Successful General Manager candidates must possess outstanding interpersonal and communication skills. The General Manager will interact with a wide range of stakeholders including Board Members, City Council members, community leaders, and customers. Eugene residents are active in local issues and EWEB needs a General Manager who respects this culture of engagement. The General Manager is expected to participate in civic and community activities and become an integral part of the community. In addition, the successful candidate should share EWEB’s values regarding environmental ethics.
The General Manager must be a seasoned manager who empowers, mentors, and develops employees. He or she must possess the ability to delegate to subordinates, make use of appropriate controls and feedback to measure results, maintain accountability, and utilize principles, practices, and tools used to optimize operational effectiveness and continuous improvement, including lean, TQM, Six-Sigma, and/or other industry standard approaches.
Additional knowledge of revenue, budget, and forecast models; rates; evolving information technology systems; and cyber security and other risk management policies and practices is considered ideal.
Knowledge and experience in labor relations and collective bargaining is desired. As are certifications relevant to public employment, including but not limited to Professional Engineer, Certified Public Accountant, Project Management Professional, Society for Human Resource
Management (SHRM), Total Quality Management, or others related to public agency management, drinking water, or electricity/energy.
A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in engineering, public policy, business administration, or combined education, training, and experience deemed by the Board to be appropriate, is required.
COMPENSATION, BENEFITS & RELOCATION
The compensation package is competitive and dependent upon qualifications and experience. EWEB offers a comprehensive retirement and benefits package and will negotiate relocation as part of an overall compensation package.
TO APPLY
Interested candidates should submit a PDF cover letter and resume no later than November 18, 2025 to pprouse@mfpllc.us. Early applications are encouraged.
Patrick Prouse
Mycoff Fry Partners LLC
PO Box 1310,
Conifer, CO 80433
(720) 201-1828
EWEB is an Equal Opportunity Employer
