General Manager Randy Howard on Aug. 15 announced his intention to retire from the Northern California Power Agency in the first quarter of 2026.
Following a 40+ year career, serving most of those years with the largest public power system in the country, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), Howard concludes his career in public service as General Manager for NCPA.
"Randy has dedicated his career to advancing public power and serving our communities with integrity," NCPA Commission Chair James "Bo" Sheppard said. "His vision for innovation, coupled with his deep respect for our members and member communities, has left a legacy we will continue to build on for years to come.”
Howard brought immense value to NCPA, overseeing the agency in serving its sixteen members and over 700,000 electricity customers, as well as providing contractual power management support for three community choice aggregators and three water agencies across Northern California.
Prior to joining NCPA, Howard was the Senior Assistant General Manager of the Power System for LADWP.
During his time at NCPA, Howard represented publicly-owned utilities (POUs) on the Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) Nominating Committee, and has been a key public power representative on the launch committee for the influential West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative, which is charting the course for the development of a regional transmission organization in the West.
He is a Board Member of the California Municipal Utilities Association (CMUA), Board Chair for Hometown Connections Inc., Chair of the Central Valley Project Corporation, Co-Chair of the Electricity Sub-Sector Coordinating Council (ESCC) Wildfire Working Group, past Board Member of the Transmission Agency of Northern California (TANC), and a frequent subject matter expert, testifying on Capitol Hill, before FERC, and in the State Legislature.
Howard's "outstanding vision can also be seen in the direction he set and the achievements made in the effort to transition the Lodi Energy Center (LEC) from natural gas to green hydrogen. Seeing the potential risk that state policies present to the future of operations, jobs, and public investment at the LEC, he skillfully worked to marshal available federal funding to reduce carbon emissions through hydrogen integration at the facility, and provided significant benefits to member participants in navigating the future of the plant," NCPA said.
Howard's deep knowledge of the industry from an operational and market perspective, combined with his broad experience and understanding of the policy and technological changes throughout the energy sector, allowed him to be an effective and strong advocate and emissary on behalf of NCPA and its members, NCPA noted.
"And, it enabled him to shape a future for NCPA that anticipates the landscape that will take shape ahead of us, assuring that public power can continue to effectively navigate and thrive in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex industry, both here in California and at the national level," it said.
"Randy’s remarkable career in public power speaks for itself, leading a significant transition toward clean energy in California and serving as a highly influential and impactful voice on behalf of electricity consumers in the state and federal policy arenas,” said Sheppard. “On behalf of our members, I thank him for his dedication to community-owned utilities and their customers throughout the state, and the passion he brings to the purpose of public power. We wish him the very best in his retirement.”
The NCPA's Executive Committee has expressed its profound gratitude to Howard for his exceptional service and will work closely with him to prepare for a smooth transition in leadership.
