By Carol Tucker

Reiko Kerr, Senior Assistant General Manager (SAGM) for Power Engineering and Technical Services, retired on June 29 after 5 1/2 years as the first woman to lead LADWP’s Power System. Kerr leaves an indelible mark on LADWP as an advocate for women at the Department and for leading the Power System through a transformative period that included undertaking the Los Angeles 100 Percent Renewable Energy Study (LA100) and joining the Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM).

Past and present co-workers and friends bade emotional farewells to Kerr during an open house at the JFB cafeteria on her last day of work. Among those who delivered remarks were General Manager and Chief Engineer Martin L. Adams, Board of Water and Power Commission President Cynthia McClain-Hill, former Board Members Susana Reyes and Christina Noonan, Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Los Angeles Lauren Faber O’Connor, President of the Los Angeles Business Council Mary Leslie, former LADWP General Manager David Nahai, Corporate Services SAGM Andrew Kendall, Power System SAGM Brian Wilbur, other SAGMs and staff representing LADWP’s professional and employee resource groups.

Just after deciding to retire from LADWP, Kerr was offered—and accepted—a new position as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG Power), effective July 17.

During her time at LADWP, Kerr co-led the Power System and its 6,000 employees with Kendall as SAGM of Power Construction, Maintenance and Operations until last year, and most recently, Brian Wilbur who replaced Kendall.

“I have been so fortunate to work with Andy and then Brian, both amazing colleagues and partners. We worked very well together,” Kerr said. Under the dual leadership structure, her counterpart oversaw the operations, maintenance and construction side of the house while Kerr was head of resource planning and development, engineering, strategic planning, technical services, regulatory compliance, and wholesale energy procurement.

Among the highlights of her accomplishments at LADWP, Kerr laid the groundwork and oversaw the historic LA100 study, which analyzed strategies to transition LADWP’s power resources to 100 percent clean energy. While engaged in this effort, the Power System continued to modernize generation, transmission and distribution facilities to ensure electric reliability and resiliency.

“Reliability and resiliency are huge concerns as we transition to a clean energy future and increase the amount of renewable energy that we rely upon for most of our power generation,” Kerr said. The primary renewable sources—wind and solar power—are variable, which means more backup and dispatchable power will be needed. The LA100 study, led by National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) of the Department of Energy (DOE), validated the need for in-basin, dispatchable generation to ensure a reliable and resilient grid. The study also cited the need for energy storage to help keep the grid reliable for short periods of time.

Kerr said laying the groundwork for joining the Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM)­­­ was another highlight of her LADWP career. Operated by the California Independent System Operator (ISO), the Western EIM is an automated voluntary energy market system that balances supply and demand for electricity every five minutes, using the least-cost energy resources to meet the needs of California’s and LADWP’s neighboring balancing authorities’ electric grids. LADWP successfully entered the EIM at midnight on April 1, 2021 after three years of planning. After just over a year in business, the program has garnered $59 million in Power System benefits while helping the California grid maintain reliability and avoid the need for rolling blackouts.

Kerr also fulfilled one of her major passions after coming to LADWP, providing equal opportunities that have resulted in more women in Power System’s management. Today, each division includes a female manager. She championed LADWP’s participation in the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and was the recipient of the 2019 Spark award at the SWE national conference.

Just as Reiko leaves her mark on LADWP, she said LADWP has left its mark on her. “LADWP wraps itself around your heart. It’s the work and the people,” she said, adding, “The work is leading edge in the industry, but the people are talented and highly skilled—the best in the industry!”

Let's wish Reiko well in her future endeavors!

Explore images from Reiko’s career at LADWP below, photos by LADWP’s Photography team.