Celebrating Excellence: Central Lincoln’s Steve Alexanderson Receives Prestigious Engineering Award

Steve and his wife, Lynn, at the 2025 NWPPA E&O Conference, where he was honored with the Excellence in Engineering and Operations Award.
Steve and his wife, Lynn, at the 2025 NWPPA E&O Conference, where he was honored with the Excellence in Engineering and Operations Award.

Keeping the lights on reliably, safely, and efficiently takes expertise and dedication—and Central Lincoln is proud to have some of the very best people making that happen every day. This spring, that commitment earned special recognition when our Senior Electrical Engineer, Steve Alexanderson, was honored by the Northwest Public Power Association (NWPPA) with its 2025 Excellence in Engineering and Operations Award.

Presented annually at NWPPA’s Engineering & Operations Conference, this award is the association’s highest honor for utility employees in engineering or operations. It celebrates individuals whose work has made lasting contributions to public power, both at their home utility and across the wider industry.

For more than 33 years, Steve has done exactly that.

At Central Lincoln, Steve has played a vital role in enhancing the reliability, safety, and efficiency of our power system. In the early 2000s, as federal regulations grew increasingly complex, Steve’s leadership and technical expertise became especially critical. He recognized that, as a small, rural utility, Central Lincoln had a limited impact on the bulk electric system—a fact that wasn’t initially reflected in regulatory classifications. Through years of diligent analysis and collaboration with regulators, Steve used sound engineering and data-driven modeling to clearly demonstrate Central Lincoln’s actual system footprint. His work ultimately led to the utility’s removal from the federal registry in 2014—a change that protected customers from unnecessary regulatory burden and cost.

Steve has also led the charge to modernize Central Lincoln’s electric system. He was instrumental in converting nearly 90% of the system to standardized, microprocessor-based relays and linking them to our first Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, allowing for faster, safer responses to outages and system issues.

But Steve’s contributions extend far beyond technical upgrades. He has dedicated himself to sharing knowledge and inspiring others. He has:

  • Mentored 12 electrical engineering interns, helping shape the next generation of utility professionals.
  • Served as a chapter coordinator for MathCounts for 15 years, encouraging middle school students to strengthen their math and problem-solving skills. On May 8, the Professional Engineers of Oregon recognized his longstanding commitment to the program with a special award.
  • Actively contributed to the broader engineering community through groups like the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), participation in North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) discussions, and regular input on engineering forums such as eng-tips.com.
Steve is honored by the Professional Engineers of Oregon for his longtime volunteer service with MathCounts.
Steve Alexanderson is honored by the Professional Engineers of Oregon for his longtime volunteer service with MathCounts.

“Steve’s dedication shows up in ways most people don’t see—but every customer benefits,” said Central Lincoln’s Director of Engineering, Shamus Gamache. “He’s passionate about making our system better, and he’s always there when needed, day or night.”

Please join us in congratulating Steve on this well-deserved honor. His commitment to innovation, mentorship, and reliability helps ensure that Central Lincoln customers enjoy safe, reliable power every day—and that future generations will benefit from the knowledge and systems he has helped build.