Wall of Fame

Kanner served as federal legislative advocate to AMP and OMEA for more than 25 years until his retirement at the close of 2023. He was recognized nationally for his public power advocacy and by The Hill newspaper as one of the top “Hired Guns” in Washington, was involved in national energy policy issues for more than 35 years.

During this time, he advocated on behalf of AMP and OMEA at the Congressional level, providing both political and policy guidance as the organizations navigated many significant changes in the industry. Kanner was engaged in myriad legislative and regulatory efforts, including the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the creation of Regional Transmission Organizations and countless debates over energy, climate, tax and transmission policy. He championed the importance of grassroots engagement by the organization and Members to ensure that public power’s interests were represented during policy deliberations.

Many of the legislative successes AMP and OMEA have enjoyed over the years are due to Kanner’s strategic guidance, advocacy and expertise. The value of his work in Washington on behalf of AMP, OMEA and municipal electric community members cannot be overstated.

Ottinger dedicated his career to representing municipalities and consumer-owned electric utilities in their power supply planning, contracting, project development, interconnection and transmission services, compliance, planning, critical infrastructure and cybersecurity, and regulatory proceedings. He served as counsel to many AMP Members through AMP’s years of growth and project development.

Ottinger represented AMP Member systems taking wholesale power from Ohio Power and American Electric Power for decades, including in the 1990 landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, Arcadia v. Ohio Power Co. Throughout his years of service to public power, he successfully supported the City of Clyde’s municipalization and assisted with the establishment of other municipal electric systems, supported OMEGA JV4 in the development of the 69-kilovolt transmission line project interconnecting Bryan and Holiday City, and negotiated a battery storage and solar agreement on behalf of the Village of Minster.

Ottinger joined Duncan & Allen upon graduation from law school in 1980, and he spent his entire career with the firm until his retirement in 2022. AMP and its Members were fortunate to have Ottinger on the team and leading during a time of significant advancement and growth.