CEO of Pacific NW’s only nuclear power plant is leaving

The executive officer of Energy Northwest plans to retire at the end of June, he told employees Wednesday.

Brad Sawatzke has led Energy Northwest since April 2018.

Energy Northwest operates the Northwest’s only commercial nuclear power plant, the Columbia Generating Station on leased Hanford site land near Richland, Wash. It also has wind, hydroelectric, solar and battery storage facilities.

Energy Northwest’s executive board will appoint a committee to help select a new chief executive to lead the agency’s 1,000 employees.

The job is one of the highest paid public service jobs in the Tri-Cities area, with Sawatzke hired at an annual salary of $711,000.

“We owe Brad our gratitude for his strong and thoughtful leadership over these past 10 years,” said Sid Morrison, executive board chairman and former congressman. “Energy Northwest is stronger than ever in its service to our public power members, leading the way to achieve Washington’s clean energy goals and Brad has set the stage for a bright future ahead.”

Before Sawatzke leaves, he will be focusing on the refueling and maintenance outage at the nuclear power plant that starts in May. The plant is refueled every other spring.

Sawatzke, 61, already has worked longer than planned.

He had announced his retirement in 2018 when the former chief executive, Mark Reddemann, retired. One of Reddemann’s first actions as a new CEO in 2010 was to hire Sawatzke a decade ago as chief nuclear officer.

Sawatzke postponed his retirement in 2018 to take over from Reddemann as CEO.

This story was originally published January 7, 2021 at 11:39 AM.