Todd H. Votteler

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Todd Votteler is a sixth generation Texan and 20-year resident of District 4.  He has three decades of experience in water and land management.  Through his consulting firm, Collaborative Water Resolution LLC, he; conducts research on complex water issues; provides facilitation, mediation and conflict resolution training services for water and land disputes; and offers executive search services for land and water organizations including utilities.

Votteler’s experience includes serving as a special master for a federal court in Midland, an executive manager at a wholesale and retail water supplier and hydroelectric power provider, and time as a research scientist at the Battelle-Pacific Northwest National Laboratory supporting the Department of Energy.

Votteler has served on boards at Texas State University and The University of Texas at Austin.  He was elected chairman of the Texas Land Trust Council and the Guadalupe Basin Coalition.  He is a graduate of the Governor’s Executive Development Program.  His degrees include a doctorate in environmental geography from Texas State University.  

Votteler’s education and experience in science and resource management would complement the wealth of business experience within the current board.  In addition to affordable power, Votteler’s priorities for the PEC include:

Increasing transparency.  Increasing the board agenda posting requirement from 72 hours to one week prior to meetings (as many state and regional utilities agencies already do in Texas) will allow the public more time to prepare and participate in PEC meetings.

Reducing the potential for wildfires.  In 2024, the largest wildfire in Texas history was started by downed power lines.  A comprehensive examination of the wildfire risk associated with the PEC’s transmission system would reduce the likelihood of PEC operations sparking future wildfires.

Increasing system resilience.  Ensuring that the PEC is ready for the next winter storm like Uri or summer demand surge should be a top PEC priority.  Increasing the PEC system’s resilience would reduce the impact of surge events and their associated spikes in energy prices.  Expanding the use of underground lines where necessary would reduce the vulnerability of the PEC’s lines to falling branches during thunderstorms and ice storms.  Expanding PEC’s current battery storage facility in Johnson City, and adding additional battery storage facilities, will increase system resilience and allow the PEC to take greater advantage of growing supplies of wind power, which has become the least expensive source of all new supplies.  

Upgrading system capacity.  Replacing more of the PEC’s conductors with larger conductors and upgrading more 69kV lines to 138kV lines, will increase the capacity and reliability of PEC’s system and ensure that the PEC will meet the service area’s growing power demands.

Votteler and his wife Sharmon have two daughters, Victoria who graduated from James Bowie High School, and Caroline who is a student at Bowie.