We Remain Accountable to You
Lately, we’ve been talking a lot at Northern Wasco County PUD about accountability. We’re having conversations about owning our work, holding each other to a high standard, and not letting something slide just because it belongs to another department. The more we talk about it, the more I keep landing on the same thought: The people we owe the most aren’t the ones signing our paychecks or sitting across the hall from us. They’re the ones we serve, which means they’re you.
That’s what really sets us apart as a utility like ours. You’re not a customer we can afford to lose track of. You own us. Our board doesn’t answer to investors somewhere. It answers to the people who elected it, right here at home. There are no shareholders in some far-off city waiting for their cut, and every dollar you pay us stays in Wasco County. When we answer to someone, that someone is you.
What I appreciate most shows up in the small things. Call us, and most of the time a person right here in The Dalles picks up the phone. During an extensive outage, when every line is ringing at once, we bring in extra help so your call still gets answered, because the last thing you need in the dark is a busy signal. And when something goes wrong at your house, the crew that shows up is made up of people I know by name. I’ve seen what they’re willing to do in the worst weather at the worst hours, and their children go to school with yours.
Answering to the people you serve changes how you carry yourself. We can’t make a decision and then drive away from it. We run into you at the grocery store and see you at the game on Friday night. When we do our job well, you’re the ones who feel it. We stand behind the work we do, and we give you a straight answer because that’s what you deserve from the people you trust to keep your lights on.
We’ve been doing this for about 80 years, and 3 generations of families here have trusted us to hold up our end. That trust is the whole job.
We hold ourselves accountable to each other in here because it’s the only way to be accountable to you out there. So, the next time your lights come on without a second thought, know there’s a group of people behind them who don’t answer to anyone but you.
Roger Kline
General Manager and CEO