Bart Barnhart
Senior Vice President and Regional Manager Rocky Mountain Region
Western Area Power Administration
Bart Barnhart was named Senior Vice President and Rocky Mountain Regional Manager in July 2021. As regional manager, he leads around 460 employees in marketing and delivering reliable, cost-based federal hydropower from Loveland Area Projects to 65 public, nonprofit utilities and organizations in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming. The RM region operates and maintains a network of more than 3,400 miles of high voltage transmission lines.
Before joining WAPA, Barnhart was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Petroleum Reserves in the Office of Fossil Energy at the Department of Energy. He provided executive leadership and directed the management and operation of America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve and environmental remediation of the former Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserve.
Barnhart joined the DOE in 2015 as a member of the Senior Executive Service in the Office of Environmental Management, where he led decommissioning and demolition of former nuclear weapons research and production facilities. Previously, as a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, he was the chief engineer of U.S. Air Force’s Central Command responsible for Air Force engineer warfighting operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan. He commanded engineer squadrons in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Nebraska and Japan, and served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and at USAF Headquarters in the Pentagon.
He has award-winning experience leading construction, facilities and airfield maintenance, contract management, fire protection and disaster/emergency response. He also led policy development, budget planning and execution for the Air Force’s environmental and energy programs.
Barnhart hails from Chariton, Iowa. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology and a master’s degree in Military Art and Science from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He is a licensed professional engineer, a project management professional and a certified facility manager.
Last modified on September 3rd, 2024