Pat Morehart is the Engineering and Operations Manager at Northern Wasco County PUD.
He was hired in August 2016.
“I started in the power distribution industry in November 1977 as a ground man,” Pat says. “I worked my way through the ranks to include journeyman lineman, serviceman/troubleshooter, and foreman.”
While working at one publicly-owned utility, Pat also gained the added perspective of working as a Board Director at another. He served as a public relations representative, secretary, treasurer, vice president, and president of the board.
“I served in that dual capacity for those two utilities for almost 10 years,” he says.
Pat worked for more than 29 years for his original employer. He then took a position as electric superintendent at another cooperatively owned utility.
“I was promoted at that utility to assistant general manager/manager of operations and managed both electric and water distribution utility operations,” he says.
After almost 10 years in that role, with his family raised, Pat started looking for a new challenge and a new living environment in which to finish out his career. He started at the PUD as Operations Superintendent and has since been promoted to Engineering and Operations Manager.
“In my career of over 40 years, I have participated in publicly owned power distribution in every role, from ground man, meter reader, equipment operator, apprentice lineman, journeyman lineman, and union shop steward for over 20 years. I have constructed, maintained, operated, supervised, and managed typical power distribution operations and storm restoration activities on different utilities throughout the Pacific Northwest. I have represented public power interests on municipal, county, and state, including several trips to Washington DC to lobby senators and congresspersons at the federal level.”
Pat says he appreciates the PUD people. “As in the other utilities I have worked at, public power employees are there for the customer and their coworkers,” he says. “The PUD promotes a safe, healthy working environment and a safe, reliable electrical service at cost for the customer/owners. The PUD is on the bow wave of change in the industry as a whole and in The Dalles, with a growing customer base and new large single customer loads. It is very exciting to me to be here and participate with the industry professionals at the PUD in that growth and change.”