The Eugene Water and Electric Board Thursday selected Frank Lawson as General Manager. Lawson, who is a Eugene native, currently serves as EWEB’s Electrical Systems Engineering Supervisor.
He was chosen from 4 finalists for the job to replace Roger Gray, who left in April. EWEB spokesman Lance Robertson says Lawson is a strategic thinker who has a lot of ideas for the future.
Lance Robertson: “I think the board was pretty clear that they were hiring him to some degree as a change agent to continue the utility’s efforts to perhaps alter the culture a little bit to be focused on costs and efficiency, but also to keep the customer in mind every time we make a decision.”
Robertson says EWEB has two major projects on the horizon. One is the relicensing of the utility’s largest hydroelectric system, Carmen Smith, up the McKenzie River. The other is to develop an alternate source of water to the McKenzie, in case of emergency. EWEB is Oregon’s largest public utility.
