FORT DEFIANCE, Ariz. – The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority has welcomed aboard Mr. Walter W. Haase as the new General Manager to oversee electric, natural gas, water, and wastewater, and solar power operations.
      On January 29, 2008, his second day on the job, Mr. Haase attended the Winter Session of the Navajo Nation Council. He was introduced to the Council during the morning session where he had a chance to meet several delegates, telling them he looked forward to leading the management team of NTUA.
     “I am honored to be here and to be part of an ongoing mission to provide quality utility services to the region,” said Mr. Haase, who has spent his two weeks on the job traveling throughout the NTUA service area and meeting NTUA employees.
     “What drives me is the opportunity to do what I can to make a positive impact that will truly make a difference in the lives of our customers,” he said.
     Mr. Haase (pronounced Hoss) comes to the Navajo Nation from upstate New York. He has 17 years of senior-level executive experience in the electric utility industry. For the past eight years, he has served as the General Manager for a multi-service utility providing electric, water, wastewater, district heating and cooling, and solid waste removal services for the city of Jamestown, New York and several surrounding communities. While employed for Jamestown Board of Public Utilities, Mr. Haase worked closely with government entities and officials to provide low-cost, reliable utility services, while expanding and regionalizing services with a special focus on economic development.
     “Mr. Haase has extensive experience in the utility arena at both the office and field level” said NTUA Deputy General Manager Rex Kontz.
     “I know that it took NTUA some time to fill the position of General Manager. I am personally glad that the NTUA Board took the necessary time to ensure that the best possible candidate was found,” Mr. Kontz said. “I believe they have succeeded to doing that.”
     Prior to his service in New York, Mr. Haase spent two years operating a natural gas and electric utility in the Rocky Mount North Carolina area. The electric utility served about 28,000 customers and the natural gas utility served about 18,000 customers.
Mr. Haase has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois and a Master of Business Administration Degree from Keller Graduate School of Management located in Chicago, Illinois. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Illinois and North Carolina. He also has a USDOT Gas Pipeline Operator’s license.        
     Since 1959, NTUA has supplied electricity, water, natural gas, wastewater, and solar power services to residents throughout the 26,000 square-mile Navajo Nation, which spreads across northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah.NTUA serves more than 50,000 electric customers, 34,000 water, 13,000 wastewater customers, and 7,000 natural gas customers.