Franklin Public Utility District’s new general manager/CEO was appointed June 25. Victor Fuentes had been serving as the interim general manager/CEO since Scott Rhees retired at the end of January; now, his role has transitioned to a permanent one.  

“This was a unanimous decision; as a Board, we all agreed he’s the right person for the general manager/CEO position,” said Roger Wright, commission president, in a statement. “We’ve seen his great work during his time at Franklin PUD and as the interim general manager/CEO. After a thorough and comprehensive search, Fuentes emerged as the clear choice.” 

Fuentes joined Franklin PUD in 2021, and his work has included the build-out of the Railroad Avenue Substation serving Reimann Industrial Park and launching a successful student intern program. Before serving as the interim general manager/CEO, Fuentes worked as engineering director and was promoted to engineering and operations senior director. 

Fuentes is the first person of Hispanic heritage to take on the role of general manager/CEO. He has more than a decade of experience in the power industry, including overseeing engineering, metering, transformer, information technology and dispatch departments, and working on line extension and substation projects.   

Fuentes has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Washington State University.  

“I look forward to building on the strong base we have and I’m confident Franklin PUD can achieve even greater successes and reach new milestones for our customers,” Fuentes said in a statement.