The Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority is mourning the loss of our beloved Board Chairman and Mayor of Edmond, Charles D. Lamb. Charles is the longest-tenured board member to serve on the OMPA Board of Directors,
having served in this capacity since 1993 (25 years). Charles has served as OMPA’s Board Chairman since 2001.
Charles has been a longtime advocate for OMPA and public power in Oklahoma. He was instrumental in the innovation and development of OMPA’s Competitive Utility Program (CUP). CUP, started in 1995, is a voluntary program that provides OMPA members with a way to evaluate and improve the operation of their electric utilities, and make them better able to compete in the electric utility industry.
“OMPA and Public Power in Oklahoma has lost a true champion. As Chair, Charles always promoted fairness, transparency, and collaboration. He believed that OMPA’s true value came from serving all members equally and that OMP
A was only as strong as the weakest link. His leadership and friendship will be greatly missed,” OMPA General Manager David Osburn.
In his past roles as Chairman of OMPA, Charles served on the American Public Power Association (APPA) Policy Makers Committee, where he advocated for public power rights and issues on a national level. In 2017, Charles received the Spence Vanderlinden Public Official Award, which recognizes elected or appointed local officials who have contributed to the goals of APPA and public power.
In 2006, Charles was inducted into the Oklahoma Municipal League’s Hall of Fame for Town and City Officials. Created in 1999, the Oklahoma Hall of Fame for City and Town Officials Foundation annually recognizes up to six individuals for outstanding achievement in the field of city and town management.
In 2013, Charles became the first ever two-time recipient of the Municipal of Electric Systems of Oklahoma’s (MESO) Ray Duffy Personal Service Award, honoring his efforts to lead Oklahoma’s efforts in promoting the value public power brings to individual communities.
On July 12, 2012, the OMPA Board of Directors unanimously voted to approve designating the name sake of OMPA’s 103-megawatt natural gas generation plant in Kay County the Charles D. Lamb Energy Center. The plant was formally dedicated in 2015 in front of a large crowd with public comments from U.S. Representative Frank Lucas and Oklahoma Secretary of Energy & Environment Michael Teague.
Charles served the City of Edmond and OMPA with pride and dignity. OMPA’s thoughts and prayers are with his wife Cheri, and the rest of his family. He will be greatly missed.
Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA) is a municipal joint-action agency created for the purpose of providing an adequate, reliable and affordable supply of electrical power and energy to Oklahoma’s municipally owned electric systems. The Authority presently serves 42 municipally owned electric systems in Oklahoma. As a consumer-owned public power entity, OMPA is owned by the member cities it serves.
