Cashmere’s Randy Smith elected to Energy Northwest Executive Board

CASHMERE — Chelan County PUD Commissioner Randy Smith has been elected to the Executive Board of Energy Northwest, joining a leadership group that helps guide energy policy and operations for the public power consortium serving communities across Washington.

Smith was elected during Energy Northwest’s regularly scheduled Board of Directors meeting and will begin his four-year term on the 11-member Executive Board in July.

The Executive Board sets policies governing the operations of Energy Northwest, a joint operating agency made up of 23 public utility districts and five municipal utilities throughout the state.

“Our board brings together knowledgeable leaders who understand the energy needs of our region and share a strong commitment to public power,” Energy Northwest CEO Bob Schuetz said. “We’re focused on delivering reliable, responsible, and innovative energy solutions for our communities.”

Smith, a longtime Chelan County PUD commissioner and lifelong Cashmere resident, was appointed to the Energy Northwest Board of Directors earlier in 2025 before now being elected to the Executive Board.

A grower who returned to his family farm in Cashmere to raise apples, pears and cherries, Smith has long been involved in both agricultural and community leadership throughout North Central Washington. According to Energy Northwest, he has served on more than 20 industry and community boards and currently serves on the board for the Community Foundation of North Central Washington.

The agency also noted Smith’s longtime advocacy for agricultural education, including 17 years as a citizen advocate for Washington State University’s College of Agriculture.

Smith joins five other newly elected Executive Board members from utilities across Washington, including representatives from Okanogan County PUD, Grays Harbor County PUD 1, Skamania County PUD, the City of Richland Energy Services, and outside director Bill Pitesa, a veteran nuclear energy executive with more than four decades in the industry.

Energy Northwest oversees a diverse portfolio of energy resources and is best known in the Pacific Northwest for operating the Columbia Generating Station nuclear plant near Richland.

For Chelan County, Smith’s election places another local voice in regional conversations about the future of public power, energy reliability and long-term infrastructure planning across Washington state.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media