Todd Brickhouse named interim CEO and general manager

This past weekend, Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s Board of Directors took two significant actions by accepting the resignation of Todd Telesz as the cooperative’s chief executive officer (CEO) and general manager and naming Todd Brickhouse as the cooperative’s interim CEO and general manager.

“On behalf of the entire board, I thank Todd Telesz for his service to Basin Electric and wish him well in his future endeavors,” said Wayne Peltier, president of the cooperative’s Board of Directors. “The Board is pleased to welcome Todd Brickhouse into his new role; since joining us in 2022, he has become an integral part of our executive team. His continued leadership in this new role will be instrumental in maintaining Basin Electric’s fiscal and operational momentum.”

Brickhouse joined Basin Electric in 2022 as its senior vice president and chief financial officer after 21 years at Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) in Glen Allen, Va., where he served as its vice president and treasurer. Like Basin Electric, ODEC is a member-owned, power supply cooperative; it serves 11-member distribution cooperatives that provide electricity to 1.5 million people in Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware.

Prior to his career at ODEC, Brickhouse was employed in the financial services industry and held positions in the areas of securities trading, investment management, and investment banking. He is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and business, and grew up in Richmond, Va. He and his wife, Tegwyn, have two high school-aged daughters.

Peltier noted that part of the Board’s governance responsibilities is succession planning. The Board’s work in that area will ensure this transition proceeds seamlessly and without impact on Basin Electric’s day-to-day operations.

“We have an experienced and strong leadership team in place that is skilled at handling change and the unexpected, a skillset that is a necessity in our business,” Peltier said. “As Todd steps into his new role, we’re confident our leadership team will continue to execute on Basin Electric’s mission and fulfill our commitment to our member-owners and stakeholders.”

Peltier said Basin Electric will conduct a national search for its next CEO and general manager by looking at both internal and external candidates. Basin Electric’s strong performance and prospects will attract a pool of highly qualified candidates, and the Board is confident the search will be expeditious and successful.