Description

Company Summary

The Northern California Power Agency (NCPA), a California Joint Action Agency, was originally established in 1968 as a forum through which community-owned utilities could prevent costly market abuses employed by private utilities at that time, and to make investments that would ensure an affordable, reliable, and clean supply of energy for electricity customers in its member communities. NCPA membership includes municipalities, rural electric cooperatives, and other publicly owned entities interested in the purchase, aggregation, scheduling, and management of electrical energy.
Most critically for its 16 members, NCPA constructs, operates, and maintains a diverse fleet of power plants and power purchase agreements that serve more than 700,000 Member customers with clean, reliable, and affordable electricity across Northern California.
Several non-Members utilities, including the California Department of Water Resources, Turlock Irrigation District, Modesto Irrigation District, and the City of Azusa, also participate in some of NCPA’s generation assets. NCPA also assists in scheduling power for several of the Northern California Community Choice Aggregators. Together with these organizations, NCPA schedules approximately 85 resources into the CAISO which equates to about 12% of the market resources dispatched on the CAISO system today. NCPA also provides other utility services for some of its members where economies of scale can be used to optimize resources and lower costs.
The Agency is overseen by a Commission comprised of knowledgeable leaders from NCPA’s member communities. These individuals are locally elected or appointed officials who serve as energy regulators in their cities, towns, and districts, and volunteer their time for NCPA governance. Because these individuals live and work near their consumers and remain directly accountable for the utility service in their communities, they provide an extremely responsive and effective governing body. Over the years, NCPA’s Commission has fostered a culture of innovation and charted a visionary course of technological innovation and environmental stewardship.
Today NCPA owns and operates a portfolio of electricity generation resources that is among the cleanest in the U.S. The Agency’s generating plants—geothermal, solar, hydroelectric, and natural gas— together constitute one of the cleanest generation portfolios in the nation. Unique among joint action agencies, NCPA allows individual members to choose the level of participation in the Agency’s generation resources, thus creating a customized generation mix of resources designed to meet the unique needs of their communities. NCPA marshals the benefits of joint action to also offer scores of cost-effective services, programs, and investment opportunities for its members, again tailored to meet the needs and desires of their local community or district.

Position Summary

Reporting to NCPA’s Commission, the General Manager manages and directs the Agency in providing safe, affordable, reliable and resilient carbon neutral wholesale power supply, ratepayer management services, sustainable generating assets, energy-related services and advocacy on behalf of its public power members through joint action. The GM is responsible for the safety of employees and the public; compliance with all federal, state, and local requirements; executing the organization’s capital strategy; developing and managing the organization’s budget; providing outstanding member service; improving operational efficiency through the use of technology and process improvement; developing and retaining top leaders. The GM is a proven leader who sets the tone for NCPA, both internally and externally, and will ensure the continuation of a corporate culture focused on exceptional leadership, safety, teamwork, operational excellence, innovation, accountability, empowerment, and delivering results.

The GM is responsible for building, motivating, developing and retaining a high-performing senior management team. The team today consists of a direct team of 4 Assistant General Managers, an Executive Assistant, a NERC Compliance Manager and 160 total full-time exempt staff. The AGMs are responsible for the following areas: Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Generation Services, Power Management and Administrative Services.
On behalf of its members, NCPA owns and operates 850 MW of generating assets valued at over $1 billion and operates with an annual budget of $565 million. The Agency currently has $375 million in debt financing. 

The primary responsibilities of NCPA’s GM include:

Work collaboratively and strategically with the Commission and Executive Committee to establish short and long-range goals, objectives, plans and policies for NCPA.
Attract, retain and develop professional, high-quality staff and governance. Ensure that NCPA has the required staff, organizational structure, and agreements in place to provide high quality, responsive, flexible resources, and support services that meet members’ needs.
Establish and maintain a culture of safety for employees and the public, operational excellence and compliance across a group of management, professional, technical, and craft employees. Manage the overall performance, quality, and compliance of daily operations while planning for future growth consistent with established policies and objectives.
Build, operate, and maintain NCPA’s 850MW of owned-generation facilities. Continue to grow and optimize the fleet of generating assets and energy-related services to meet member needs safely, reliably and affordably, while meeting environmental goals, minimizing risk, including wildfire risks, and maximizing asset value.
Manage and engage with the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) and the Bureau of Reclamation (BoR) NCPA’s approximately 46% contractual share of the Federal Central Valley Project hydro resources.
Dispatch, schedule and manage energy 24/7 to utilities to meet the short and long-term electricity needs of customers.
Create and maintain a culture of compliance that will ensure that the Agency meets or exceeds all appropriate legal, environmental, reliability and compliance requirements. Continually monitor and update Agency compliance policies and procedures to ensure they remain appropriate.
Utilize robust and trusted relationships with lawmakers and regulators in DC and in Sacramento, combined with deep and relevant electric utility knowledge to position NCPA as a credible, solutions-oriented coalition builder and leader in state and federal legislative and regulatory policy. Promote L&R processes and communication strategies that produce common solutions and approaches for the highly diverse and complex issues facing NCPA’s members.
Provide opportunities, through joint action, to capture best practices and optimize retail customer programs that are locally tailored and administered by members. These include, but are not limited to, energy efficiency programs, low-income programs, and economic development initiatives.
Issue bonds to finance and build new generation resources to meet member needs.
Oversee the adequacy and soundness of the Agency's financial structure. Establish sound fiscal management principles, processes, and ensure that strategies control costs, minimize risks, and keep the Agency financially healthy.
Plan and direct all development and negotiations pertaining to attracting new members, new projects or contract services with approval of the Commission.
Grow the Agency in a manner that adds value and meets the needs of the various stakeholders while maintaining strategies to control costs, minimize risks and maximize the value of Agency
Position Specification 6
resources. Develop or revise policies, agreements, or the JPA to ensure an on-going or expanding role in an increasingly complex energy and financial environment where energy demand is increasing and pressures to address affordability is also increasing.
Ensure all Agency agreements, policies, procedures, etc. are up-to-date, add value, and clarity.
Represent the Agency with members and its diverse stakeholders that include elected officials, the financial community, competitors, other energy-related entities and the public.
Represent NCPA and its Members on various utility association boards and other joint action agencies. The current GM currently holds a number of additional board and committee roles that have included Chair of the Western Energy Market (WEM) Nominating Committee, Launch Committee Member of the West-Wide Pathways Initiative, Board Member of the California Municipal Utilities Association (CMUA), Board Chair for Hometown Connections Inc., Member of Transmission Access Policy Study Group (TAPS), Chair of the Central Valley Corporation, Board Member of the Transmission Agency of Northern California (TANC), and Co-Chair of the Energy Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC) Wildfire Working Group.
Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Requirements

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required for this role.

• A minimum of ten years of senior management experience in the electric industry, preferably in the public sector, with the necessary knowledge and abilities required to lead a complex Joint Action Agency. Industry reputation as a strategic, disciplined, and agile energy utility leader. Industry stature and credibility, combined with a reputation for the highest personal integrity and ethics are required.
• Specific knowledge in power generation operations and/or development with natural gas combustion turbines, geothermal, renewable projects, battery storage, and/or hydroelectric is highly desirable.
• Specific experience with California and Western power markets and regional transmission systems (CAISO; WECC) is also highly desirable.
• Experience managing annual budgets of at least $300M is preferred, along with the management of complex, large capital projects. NCPA’s current budget is approximately $565M. Experience managing and developing projects utilizing public debt is also desirable but is not a requirement.
• Strong financial acumen, including experience working with Wall Street Investment Firms and rating agencies to maintain and improve bond ratings, is also highly desirable.
• Manage and lead diverse staff functions, including working with a staff that is comprised of both union and non-union employees.
• Possess strong and relevant political acumen and relationship skills required to build, nurture, influence and maintain strong and positive relationships with other senior-level executives in industry and with regulators, legislators and politicians at the local, state and federal levels.
• Navigate the dynamic power generation, supply and regulatory market environment to proactively evolve NCPA’s capabilities to continue to provide affordable, reliable and risk-mitigated power and services to its members.
• Write and present effectively in small and large groups, especially on complex issues where there is not a consensus POV; adjusts to fit the audience and the message; effectively communicates changes, builds commitment and overcomes resistance.