FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Nov. 3, 1997
Contact: Bob Fullerton, (303)275-2700
GOLDEN, CO—Joel Bladow was named Western Area Power Administration's Rocky Mountain Regional manager Thursday. Western is part of the U.S. Department of Energy and annually markets and transmits nearly 10,000 megawatts of power primarily from Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineer hydroelectric powerplants in 15 western and central states. Western sells about 40 percent of regional hydroelectric generation.
In making this announcement, Western's Acting Administrator Mike Hacskaylo noted, "It gives me great pleasure to have Joel Bladow in this position. Bladow has been a member of Western's senior management team for a number of years and brings a diverse background and considerable experience to Rocky Mountain Region."
Bladow has been Western's Assistant Administrator for Washington Liaison since June 1992. As Western's representative in Washington, D.C., Bladow represented Western, Southeastern and Southwestern power marketing administrations with the Department of Energy and Congress and coordinated PMA activities with other Federal agencies in Washington, D.C.
Originally from Moorhead, Minn., Bladow earned both bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from North Dakota State University in 1981 and 1982, respectively. While an undergraduate, he played football for NDSU from 1977 to 1980 and was the Bison's co-captain his senior year. Prior to his position in Washington, D.C., Bladow served as Assistant Area Manager for Engineering in Western's Phoenix Area Office, now known as the Desert Southwest Region.
Located in Loveland, Colo., Rocky Mountain Region markets or administers more than 1,200 MW of power from the Colorado River Storage Project and 21 hydroelectric plants along the South Platte, North Platte, Arkansas and Big Horn rivers. Rocky Mountain delivers this power to cities and towns, rural electric cooperatives, public utility and irrigation districts and Federal and state agencies in Colorado, Wyoming, western Nebraska and most of Kansas.
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