Douglas Hunter, general manager & CEO of Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS), received the Alex Radin Distinguished Service Award at the recent national conference of the American Public Power Association (APPA) in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The Radin award is the highest award granted by the APPA. It recognizes exceptional leadership and dedication to public power. The citation noted that Hunter “has been a public power stalwart for 38 years. As chair of the APPA in 2015, he helped the association adopt its first comprehensive three-year strategic plan.”
At the same conference, Ted Rampton, former Chief Governmental Affairs Officer for UAMPS, received the Alan Richardson Statesmanship Award. This award honors public power leaders who work to achieve consensus on national issues important to public power utilities.
Under Doug Hunter’s leadership, UAMPS is pursuing the Carbon Free Power Project that includes what could be the nation’s first small modular nuclear reactor project. “Doug’s collaborative leadership style has resulted in an outstanding partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Idaho National Laboratory, state governments, and many world-class private vendors and suppliers,” said the award citation.
In 2017, Hunter was awarded the Energy Pioneer award by Utah Gov. Gary Herbert during the annual Governor’s Energy Summit. “Doug has been progressive and forward-thinking, encouraging and helping public power to keep up with rapidly-changing technologies and regulation. He is committed to helping customers realize that electricity is the invisible fabric that holds our communities together.”
Ted Rampton, who recently retired, has served on multiple APPA committees, including the Power Marketing Administration Task Force and the Legislative and Resolutions Committee. He chaired the Association’s Advisory Committee from 2009 to 2012. He has been active with the Northwest Public Power Association (NWPPA), advocating for key initiatives like small modular nuclear reactors, and was elected to the NWPPA Board of Trustees in 2016 as an advisor to the board. He became president of the Colorado River Energy Distributors Association in 2018. For many years, Ted has brought an effective voice to public power issues.
Also at the conference, Laurie Mangum, energy director for the city of St. George, was elected to the APPA’s board of directors.
The American Public Power Association is the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide and serve more than 49 million people and employ more than 93,000 people. The association advocates and advises on electricity policy, technology, trends, training, and operations.
