Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Bonneville Power Administration Senior Vice President Mark Gendron to Retire (Bonneville Power Administration)

(PORTLAND, OR) – Senior Vice President of Power Services Mark Gendron announced that he will retire from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) in March 2017.

Gendron is responsible for BPA’s power scheduling functions, generation asset management, power contracts and rates, power purchases and acquisitions, energy efficiency and the business relationships with BPA’s retail utility customers. Power Services produces revenues of nearly $3 billion per year from the sale of about 11,000 average megawatts of power.

“Mark has been an incredibly valuable member of the BPA executive team, blessed with an acute sensitivity to the needs of our customers and a personal style and grace that has touched all who have worked with him,” said Elliot Mainzer, BPA administrator and chief executive officer. “I will miss his even keel and wise counsel and wish him and his wife Loraine many happy years of retirement.”

Prior to serving in his current role, Gendron was vice president of Northwest Requirements Marketing, responsible for marketing and contracting the sale of requirements power to BPA customers.

Gendron has also served on committees and boards for a variety of public power organizations over the years including the Idaho Consumer-Owned Utilities Association, Idaho Energy Authority and Public Power Council.

“As a leader coming from public power, Mark brought important insight and talent to BPA that will be difficult to replace,” said Scott Corwin, executive director of PPC. “He has taken on some of the agency’s biggest challenges, but has remained a good friend and a highly respected colleague who will be missed throughout the industry when he retires.”

Gendron came to BPA from Idaho Falls Power where he was the general manager for 10 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Colorado and began his career as a design engineer. He worked for various utility and engineering companies in the West before joining Idaho Falls Power in 1985 as chief engineer.

“I have been fortunate and blessed to have capped off my career at the Bonneville Power Administration, where I have had the privilege every day of working with great people committed to delivering on our mission that is so important to the people of the Northwest,” said Gendron.


The lead time on Gendron’s announcement will allow the agency to conduct the federal selection process and provide a brief overlap period before his departure. BPA will soon post a vacancy announcement for the next senior vice president of Power Services, a Senior Executive Service position.