12.20.10

Utility's new CEO: Clark takes on M.U.D. future
Omaha World-Herald editorial

Douglas Clark, who will take over as president of Metropolitan Utilities District January 1, displays the kind of wide-ranging mind and deep grasp of the complexity of critical issues needed for the head of a billion-dollar natural gas and water corporation -- a worthy successor indeed to Tom Wurtz, whose nine years of M.U.D. leadership have set the stage for continued progress.

Clark's agenda, as he laid it out recently, appears to contain enough hard-headed practicality to keep the ratepayer-owned utility on course to maintaining its low rates while still operating in the real world of increasing costs, employee needs and local, state and federal regulatory uncertainty.

He will first act to consolidate the workforce and reinforce the direction in which the utility is headed, he said, with straight talk and facts. Tight budgets mean workers' raises and promotions could be pinched, for instance.

M.U.D. can expect more regulatory challenges in the next decade, he suggested, both for itself and related industries.

The utility uses a great deal of power to pump water throughout the Omaha area, for example. Federal regulations affecting electric utilities such as the Omaha Public Power District will also affect M.U.D. ratepayers and need to be rational and science-based. The same is true of federal clean water rules.

M.U.D. will continue to promote conservation under Clark's tenure; he said it would be foolish not to. But as usage and revenue go down, Clark said new markets, new sources of income must and can be found.

Clark, who was chosen after a wide-ranging search, is a strong advocate of compressed natural gas (CNG) as a vehicle fuel. Under his leadership, M.U.D. already has begun development. Two public fueling stations will open in June; only five to eight more are needed in strategic locations, Clark suggested, to have an efficient distribution system and make Omaha a CNG-friendly community.

Increasing public awareness and use of CNG as a vehicle fuel, replacing petroleum products, will cut tail-pipe pollution as well as cut consumer costs, he said. Omahans can expect to hear more it soon.

Growth in M.UD.'s water department will likely come as communities around the area find it would be more economical for them to use M.U.D.'s water than operate independent systems. Clark said those kinds of natural partnership are an area he strongly supports.

Clark will surely find that guiding the huge utility into the future will be a challenge. Good luck to him.

Doug Clark

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