June 19, 2000

CONTACT: Nancy Mitchell

720-962-7054 mitchell@wapa.gov

BILLINGS, Mont. — A resident of Billings received the Western Area Power Administration’s highest honor here today.
Western Administrator Mike Hacskaylo presented the Exceptional Service Award to Robert F. Riehl, rates manager at Western’s Upper Great Plains Regional Office in Billings.
“The Exceptional Service Awards are a positive way to recognize some of our most valued employees. They are symbols of what we as an agency have accomplished and the great things we hope to achieve together in the future,” noted Hacskaylo.
Robert Riehl joined Western as a public utilities specialist in 1977 after graduating from Carroll College in Helena. Since then, Riehl has contributed significantly to Western as an expert in power repayment methodology, history and policy.
During the past year, Riehl led two Westernwide teams, one redrafting the agency’s wholesale power rates policies and procedures manual and one detailing the standards of conduct for the regional rates staff. According to coworker Robert J. Harris, “Bob developed the first 10-year rate projection. The high level of customer comfort and trust enjoyed throughout the UGP is the direct result of Bob’s work with our customers, both individually and with customer groups.”
An active member of the Billings community, Riehl serves in the Boy Scouts and is a dynamic volunteer in his church. Riehl also enjoys golf, fishing, auctions and home projects with his wife Susan and their three children, Alexis, Kurt and Molly.
Western Area Power Administration markets and transmits reliable, low-cost electric power, provides related services and encourages energy efficient management in an environmentally sound manner. Western’s service area covers 1.3 million square miles in 15 western states.