Benton PUD General Manager, Rick Dunn shared the stage with President & CEO, North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and President & CEO, Easton Utilities Commission in Maryland as a panelist at the APPA 2025 CEO & Utility Managers Roundtable with 130 Public Power leaders attending from across the nation.

His message emphasized the need for “climate and energy realism” in state and federal policies and how “development friction” associated with land and mineral intensive wind and solar farms is increasing the risk of blackouts, i.e. we can’t overbuild wind and solar farms at a rate fast enough to replace reliable coal and natural gas generation which is being retired prematurely under the influence of overly generous federal and state tax incentives for wind and solar technologies.

Checkout Rick’s objective, data-driven presentation slides which acknowledge how critical it is that we balance affordability and reliability with environmental responsibility.

Benton PUD held a series of forums in Fall 2024 to inform our customers and help answer the question, "is affordable, reliable electricity in jeopardy?"

Check out the presentation slides below to learn more about these topics:

• Northwest Close to Blackouts – How Did We Get Here?
• Washington and Oregon Clean Energy Policies – Global & U.S. Perspectives
• Washington Energy Strategy – Challenges and Concerns
• Where Do We Go From Here? – Near and Long Term

With all the emphasis on “clean energy” these days, it’s easy to miss the fact that all sources of energy have environmental impacts. While “clean energy” is usually all about greenhouse gas emissions, you need to consider the full lifecycle of different electricity generating technologies. Consider more of a global perspective on power generation and the concept of energy poverty. Afterall, electricity is a commodity and a service that “powers all other industries.”