The Turlock Irrigation District will employ executive search consultants Ralph Anderson and Associates to find a replacement for departed General Manager Larry Weis, following a Board of Directors decision Tuesday morning.
Per the terms of the agreement, the Rocklin-based company will charge TID a flat rate fee of $18,500 to perform the search. The district will also pay administrative, advertising, and background check costs not to exceed $6,500. The agreement does not include any travel costs, such as flying candidates to Turlock or trips to interview potential GMs.
The search is estimated to be completed in 90 to 120 days.
Ralph Anderson and Associates was selected by the committee in charge of finding Weis’ replacement due to their extensive, nationwide experience in recruiting both water and power district executives. The firm has previously found a general manager for the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, Clark County Water Reclamation District, Orange County Water District, and Rosamond Community Services District, among others.
Weis left TID on Aug. 31 to accept the position of general manager of Austin Energy in Austin, Texas. Casey Hashimoto, a 25-year district employee and assistant general manager of Electrical Engineering and Operations since 2001, is serving as interim general manager until Weis’ permanent replacement is located.
Electric rate revisions planned
The Turlock Irrigation District Board of Directors will hold a public hearing at 9 a.m. on Nov. 23 to consider changes to electricity rates.
Changes in state law have forced the district to modify rates for net metered solar customers, separating the rate into different schedules – one for residential and small commercial customers, and one for all other customers. A separate state law revision will require the district to revisit the rate which allows renewable generator owners to sell their output to the district.
At the Nov. 23 hearing, the district will consider the changes required by the new laws, as well as minor language changes to some existing rates, according to TID staff. District energy rates were last modified in February 2009.
In preparation for the meeting, the board will hold three workshops on electricity rates. The first workshop, held Tuesday morning, discussed how the district sets electricity rates pursuant to regulatory requirements, costs of service, and competitors’ rates; the following two workshops will be held on Oct. 5 and Nov. 2.
TID to assume scheduling coordinator role
The Turlock Irrigation District will cut out the middleman – a third-party scheduling coordinator – and take full charge of scheduling electricity usage between the District Balancing Area and the California Independent System Operator.
The move will cost the district about $30,000, but will create potentially cost-saving opportunities for TID to buy and sell electricity. Also, as the district will communicate directly with the CAISO, TID will be able to act more quickly to buy and sell electricity, and will directly receive bills or payments rather than routing them through a third party.
The new job will be handled, 24 hours a day, by employees staffing the district’s wind desk, currently responsible for monitoring output from TID’s 136.6 megawatt Tuolumne Wind Project power plant in Klickitat County, Wash. The expansion to 24/7 monitoring of the wind project is expected to have additional benefits to the district.
To contact Alex Cantatore, e-mail acantatore@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2005.
