The Tacoma Public Utility Board has selected William (Bill) Gaines to serve as the new director of Tacoma Public Utilities. The current Tacoma Power superintendent will replace Mark Crisson, who has led Tacoma Public Utilities for nearly 15 years. Gaines will begin his new duties on Nov. 1 when Crisson retires.
In his new role as the chief executive officer, Gaines will have responsibility for general management and administration of the organization, which includes Tacoma Power, Tacoma Water and Tacoma Rail.
Gaines joined Tacoma Power in October 2006, after serving at Seattle City Light as power supply and environmental affairs officer and as power management executive. He spent much of his career as an executive officer at Puget Sound Energy, where he served as vice president for engineering and contracting and as vice president for energy supply.
The Tacoma native and graduate of Wilson High School holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Washington State University and a masters degree in business administration from the University of Puget Sound. He also attended the executive development program at Stanford University.
