Celebrating Clay Fitch’s Career
By Dianna Troyer
Retiring CEO Clay Fitch carries on a legacy of keeping WREC rates affordable and protecting Nevadans from harmful policies.
Clay Fitch has a new job title but the same unwavering commitment to ensuring Wells Rural Electric Company members have the best possible electric rates.
Instead of being WREC’s chief executive officer, he is working remotely at home as director of power supply, the job his replacement Thad Ballard held.
“Basically, Thad and I switched jobs on June 12,” says Clay, who worked as CEO for 23 years. “For 39 years, he has gained a lot of experience in different positions that will benefit our members.”
Clay officially retires from WREC on January 15. A celebration of his 33-year career at the co-op is scheduled at 5 p.m. September 6 at the Chimney Rock Municipal Golf Course in Wells.
“My interest—and in fact mission—has always been to improve the quality of life for our members, who also happen to be our neighbors, friends, and family,” he says. “We were built by the very communities we serve, and I take the job of protecting the interests of our communities very seriously.”
During his decades at WREC, whatever his job title, Clay says he relied on “my ‘grandma’ sayings that withstand the test of time. 1 of them is to always treat people the way I’d like to be treated.”
For his advocacy of affordable public power, Clay received several rewards, including the D. Vernon Dalton Award from the Nevada Rural Electric Association, the Regional Award for Outstanding Service from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and the Life Member Award from the Northwest Public Power Association.
NWPPA praised Clay for being instrumental in developing Northwest Requirements Utilities Power Services, which advocates for cost-effective and reliable wholesale power supply and transmission service, including transfer service (the cost of moving electricity through other providers’ systems to reach its destination), from Bonneville Power Administration. He also supported and joined multiple industry groups to secure the region’s energy future.
Clay’s efforts not only benefitted WREC members but all residents of Nevada. During 2018 and 2020, he and other co-op managers successfully launched on-the-road campaigns to defeat Question 3 and Question 6. The 2 proposed Nevada constitutional amendments, initiated by out-of-state organizations, would have ultimately led to higher electric rates for consumers statewide.
Defeating Harmful Initiatives
Clay says perception is everything, and political agendas of certain interest groups were intentionally misleading, particularly in Question 3 and Question 6. They were inaccurately presented as ways to lower rates and promote carbon-free energy.
“Energy legislation doesn’t belong in the Constitution,” says Clay, who wrote opinion pieces to explain why the initiatives would harm Nevadans and campaigned 1-on-1 to defeat the proposed initiatives.
“I lost track of how many events and Rotary Club meetings I spoke at statewide to explain why those initiatives would have been harmful,” he says.
In 2020, Question 6 was defeated by 58% to 42%. It would have required Nevada electric utilities to acquire half of their electricity from renewable resources by 2030. State legislation, however, has already addressed the issue and requires that 50% of the state’s energy come from renewable generation by 2030.
“We were able to have large-scale hydroelectricity be categorized as a renewable energy under legislation. Because WREC receives its power from the Bonneville Power Administration, roughly 90% of our generation portfolio is carbon-free.”
In 2018, Question 3 was defeated by 67% to 33%. It would have required the establishment of an open, competitive retail electric energy market with its advocates inaccurately promising lower rates.
“In our case, we would have been forced to terminate our BPA contracts and leave our not-for-profit, tax-exempt, cost-based electric cooperative for profit-driven electricity providers subject to income taxes.”
While advocating for policies to provide affordable electricity, Clay says, “We learned some powerful tools to connect members and legislators about issues, especially working with Voices for Cooperative Power.”
An ongoing political issue is the Biden Administration supporting the removal of the lower Snake River dams. WREC and other utilities are working with their congressional delegations to keep dams in place because they provide clean, reliable electricity and offer salmon passage.
Committed to Employee Safety
Along with focusing on power rates, Clay placed priorities on workforce development, succession planning, training and collaboration.
“As part of my commitment to employee safety, I ran for a board seat and was elected to 3, 3-year terms as the Region IX Director on the Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange.”
Clay worked for the continuation of Federated offering wildfire liability insurance for cooperatives in the West when cancellations were occurring because of the failures in California. He also was active in advancing the Commitment to Zero Contacts program to reduce electric contacts by lineworkers.
The political issues Clay confronted during his career were unforeseen in 1981 when he began working for WREC as an engineering technician.
“Dan Kessler, a good friend and future mentor, worked in member services at the time and told me there was a job opening and encouraged me to apply,” he says.
Clay had been working for mining companies after studying metallurgical engineering at the Mackay School of Mines at the University of Nevada, Reno.
“I was getting tired of the boom-and-bust nature of the industry,” he says. “I thought to myself, ‘People always need electricity so there would be job security at the co-op.’ Plus, I’ve always liked math and surveying, so the job sounded interesting to me.”
Before he became CEO in 2001, Clay worked for 3 managers: Dan Bryan, Lee Standley, and Dan Kessler.
“I’m grateful for their insights and also to have worked with supportive board members,” he says. “They didn’t mind that I coached boys and girls high school varsity basketball while working here. I’ve always loved being involved with youth sports. Kids are eager to learn and fun to be around.”
After he retires next year, Clay is uncertain what he will focus on next.
“I don’t have any specific plans,” he says. “I’ll take a year off, go golfing and fishing, then will decide what to do. I wouldn’t mind doing some consulting work or filling in as a temporary CEO, but it’s not something I’ll pursue at this time. I’m looking forward to spending time with my family and grandchildren and whatever the future may bring.”
