Access Academy Choir: “Oregon, My Oregon” Daniel Poneman, Deputy Secretary of Energy:
So this is an exciting time for the region.
It’s an exciting time for Bonneville Power Administration.
The challenges are as great as any I can either recall or have read about, but so are the
opportunities.
And Bonneville is uniquely placed to help the nation tackle some of its greatest challenges.
This organization has long been at the forefront of innovation and thought leadership.
From technologies that are test bedded it at your facilities to the innovative rate
structures that BPA has helped to pioneer.
And we have to ensure that remains it remains at the cutting edge; helping to push an in
industry where change can sometimes be difficult.
Now that kind of foresight requires a leader who has the vision to understand where the
organization needs to go and how to guide it there.
And I’m proud to say today in Bill Drummond we have found that leader.
So now the baton is smoothly passed to Bill Drummond, who has the dedication, the passion
and the energy to get the job done for the people of this region and the nation.
So, absent any objection, I would now like to administer the oath of office.
If Bill, you and Elizabeth would kindly join me here at the podium.
Do you have the Bible?
Bill Drummond: Yes, sir.
Poneman: Okay.
If you would be good enough to repeat after me.
I, William Drummond.
Drummond: I, William Drummond.
Poneman: Do solemnly swear … Bill Drummond: Do solemnly swear …
Poneman: That I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against
all enemies, Bill Drummond: That I will support and defend
the Constitution of the United States against all enemies …
Poneman: foreign and domestic.
Bill Drummond: foreign and domestic.
Poneman: That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
Bill Drummond: That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
Poneman: That I take this obligation freely.
Bill Drummond: That I take this obligation freely.
Poneman: Without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
Bill Drummond: Without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
Poneman: And that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office …
Bill Drummond: And that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office …
Poneman: on which I’m about to enter.
Bill Drummond: on which I’m about to enter.
Poneman: So help me God.
Bill Drummond: So help me God.
Poneman: Congratulations.
(Applause) Bill Drummond: I’m humbled by support I’ve
received an incredibly excited about the opportunity that we have together.
Bonneville is an amazing institution and has a fascinating evolution.
From a dream of providing economic prosperity through power and irrigation to a poverty-stricken
region with our federal partners — the [U.S. Army] Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of
Reclamation; to helping save the world from fascism in World War II; to the treaty with
Canada that has provided storage for flood control and power for exchanges over long
distance power lines to California; to the Northwest Power and Conservation Act, with
its emphasis on energy efficiency, renewables and regional planning; to the endangered species
act, listing of salmon and steelhead; to the West Coast power crisis; to new long-term
contracts with our customers; to the explosive growth of wind generation; to the new relationships
with the tribes and states through the fish accords; to the country’s largest smart
grid demonstration project that Dan referenced with our utility and industry partners.
It is a truly inspiring history.
So now our vision is to fuse economic prosperity and environmental health.
And to prove that they are not only not mutually exclusive, but they can be both low cost and
reliable as well.
That new vision is supported by our agency values.
The first is trustworthy stewardship.
We’ve been gifted this incredible generation and transmission system, low-cost, renewable
and carbon free.
And with this great gift comes incredible responsibility.
We can never forget that this incredible resource came at a great cost to the environment, the
salmon, steelhead, and especially to the people and cultures that depended on them.
We have both a legal and a moral obligation to protect, mitigate and enhance the resources
that were impacted by the federal hydro and transmission system.
And we also have an obligation to maintain the federal generation and transmission facilities
and improve upon them.
They’re showing their age and we have an aggressive plan to make sure that they are
available for future generations.
Our second value is collaborative relationships.
We will be open, honest and ethical with our partner federal agencies, the tribes and states,
our customers, constituents, and of course our fellow employees.
We’ve proven time and time again that the best way to solve issues is to deal with them
here in the region rather than relying on others to solve them for us.
That takes collaboration and I’ll be looking for more opportunities to build on the relationships
that have already been forged and to build new ones.
Finally, we will pursue operational excellence.
We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard of supplying power at the lowest possible
cost consistent with sound business principles.
These are our values and we will live them every day.
Now, I have to tell you that I’ve had two somewhat disconcerting experiences in the
last 10 days.
First, I learned that there are certain circumstances beyond say taking bribes or kickbacks that
the administrator can be fined or put in jail.
Now, fines, uh, jail time, I can assure you, Dan, you didn't mention that in the interview.
The second thing is seeing Steve [Wright] give his farewell speech about three different
times.
Each time he included a section he called “unfinished business,” where he listed
the things that he wanted to get done but wasn’t able to finish and he was leaving
for the next administrator.
And each time I heard him give this speech I found that list getting a little longer.
By the time of his final speech at the Portland City Club, umm, the list was at least twice
as long as the first time I heard it.
(Laughter) However, I would tell you that the primary
thing that’s kept me from running from the building with my hair on fire is my faith
and confidence in the Bonneville staff.
Every day I’m, sorry.
Every day I’m buoyed by the tremendous people that work here.
Bonneville’s employees and our contractors are our greatest asset.
(Applause) I would be remiss if I didn’t thank my family,
my wife.
I certainly wouldn’t be here without their help and support.
I fell into this business completely by accident.
It’s a funny story I’ll describe some time.
(Laughter) But I found a career that’s been incredibly
rewarding and hugely challenging.
After more than 30 years, I still come to work every day excited and enthused because
I know that I will face very challenging issues and endless opportunity to learn, and huge
uncertainties.
And that I get to work with an amazing group of people that are smart, inspired by our
vision and dedicated to public service.
Pardon me.
There’s an old reference to being able to see further because we stand on the shoulders
of giants.
Our challenge and our opportunity is to make sure that those who follow us can see further
still.
Thank you.
(Applause)