Charlie Black will lead Council's Power Planning Division

Charlie Black is the new Director of Power Planning at the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, Chair Joan Dukes announced today. Black has 30 years’ experience working with or for Northwest utilities in power resource planning, acquisition, risk management, and regulation. He is widely respected for his extensive analytical abilities, as well as his deep knowledge of energy resources and energy markets. He starts on June 4, replacing Terry Morlan, who retired in April.

"We are delighted to welcome Charlie Black to the Council," Dukes said. "He is one of the few individuals with the background and the analytical and managerial skills necessary to do this complex job. The Northwest is fortunate to possess one of the world’s greatest power systems, and Charlie Black's expertise will help the Council in its role under the Northwest Power Act as one of the key stewards of this critical regional resource."

Black’s utility experience includes power-planning positions at Puget Sound Energy, Tacoma Power, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, and Riverside, California, Public Utilities. His consulting clients included public and investor-owned utilities in Washington, Montana, Nevada, and Rhode Island, and the Bonneville Power Administration.

Black has a combined bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics from Western Washington University and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Washington.

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council is a compact of the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington and is directed by the Northwest Power Act of 1980, a federal law, to prepare a power plan to assure the Pacific Northwest an adequate, efficient, economical, and reliable power supply. The power plan includes a program to protect, mitigate, and enhance fish and wildlife of the Columbia River Basin affected by hydropower dams.