Chugach Electric Appoints Interim Director to Seat on Board

By Brian Kassof

At its February 22 meeting the Board of Directors of Chugach Electric Association (CEA) appointed Burnell “Bernie” Smith to an interim seat on the Board. Smith was appointed to fill the seat left vacant by the January 2023 resignation of Director Erin Whitney. Smith’s appointment is until the conclusion of CEA’s board election on May 19, when members will elect someone to fill the remaining two years of Whitney’s term.

Smith is a retired engineer with a long history in the Alaska utility sector. He worked for (and was later a Commissioner of) the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, and also worked for the Alaska Energy Authority. He has served on CEA’s Bylaws Committee and its Member Advisory Council (MAC). Smith ran for the CEA Board in 2022, but was not one of the two people elected that year. Smith has not applied to the CEA Nominating Committee to be a candidate in this year’s election.

The CEA Board received eleven applications for the Interim Director opening. The Board interviewed all eleven applicants last week before selecting Smith. The vacancy was created when Whitney resigned from the Board when she accepted a job with the US Department of Energy.

CEA says its Nominating Committee has received applications from twelve members to run for the Board this year. Although the deadline for applying to be a candidate through the Nomination Committee is now past, those interested in running for the CEA Board can still apply as petition candidates until March 10. CEA members will elect three Directors this year. The top-two vote getters will fill regular four-year terms on the Board; the third-place finisher will serve out the remainder of Director Whitney’s term, which runs through 2025.