No CEO found for nuclear power plant near Tri-Cities. Temporary leader named

Energy Northwest’s executive board has named an interim chief executive as it continues its search for a replacement for its top position.

Brad Sawatzke announced in January that he would retire as chief executive at the end of June.

The CEO search for Energy Northwest, which operates the only commercial nuclear power reactor in the Northwest, is going well, Sid Morrison, executive board chairman, told the Tri-City Herald.

The board is fortunate to have strong internal candidates for the position, he said. They include Grover Hettel, who was named interim chief executive officer on Wednesday.

Energy Northwest has done a good job of developing leadership, which has not always been the case at the agency, Morrison said. The board also has outside candidates.

The leadership decision will be important at a time of change and potential growth as Energy Northwest works to become a leader with small modular reactors, Morrison said.

New sources of emissions-free electricity will be needed as Washington state implements the Clean Energy Transformation Act, which requires 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045.

This spring Energy Northwest signed an agreement with X-energy and Grant County PUD for the development, construction and operation of an advanced power reactor, the 80-megawatt Xe-100, on land leased by Energy Northwest at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Eastern Washington.

Hettel was named the chief nuclear officer in 2018 when Sawatzke was promoted to chief executive. Before that he had served as vice president for nuclear operations since 2012. He has more than 30 years experience in the nuclear industry.

He also will continue in his role as chief nuclear officer, responsible for the Columbia Generating Station, the nuclear plant near Richland that provides about 10% of Washington state’s electricity.

“We’ve been very fortunate to have Grover as an integral part of Energy Northwest’s leadership team for almost a decade, and his talent, compassion and pursuit of excellence puts the agency in very capable hands,” Morrison said.

As interim chief executive, Hettel will lead an organization of more than 1,000 employees, and he will provide oversight of the agency’s mix of carbon-free resources, including hydroelectric, nuclear, solar, wind and battery storage facilities.

His compensation as interim chief executive has yet to be negotiated. Sawatzke was hired in 2018 at an annual salary of $711,000.

The Columbia Generating Station was on day 39 of its planned 40-day refueling and maintenance outage on Tuesday. Startup of the reactor began Tuesday morning, a process expected to take several days.