City Manager Appoints New General Manager for Water & Power Department

City Manager Steve Mermell today announced he has appointed Gurcharan S. Bawa as the new General Manager for the City’s Water and Power Department.

Bawa has been with Pasadena Water and Power (PWP) since joining the City in 1992 as an associate engineer. He has advanced steadily though the department with a variety of assignments, becoming Assistant General Manager for Power Supply in 2007 and, most recently, as Interim General Manager since July 2016.

Bawa will oversee a department of about 440 full-time employees and an annual budget of about $272 million. PWP, www.cityofpasadena.net/waterandpower, currently provides the power and water needs of the City’s residents and businesses, including about 65,000 electric accounts in Pasadena and 40,000 water accounts in Pasadena and portions of Altadena.

PWP earlier this month celebrated the completion of a new, $137 million power generating facility, GT-5, at the City’s existing Glenarm Power Plant, replacing a 50-year-old steam generator. GT-5 is an environmentally friendly, combined-cycle generator that uses both steam and natural gas to supply up to 71MW of power.

“I am honored and humbled to be appointed General Manager of PWP. I am committed to working with my fellow employees and other stakeholders to enhance the value of PWP for our community. Together we must effectively respond to changes in the business environment and still hold to our fundamental values of providing safe and reliable water and power in an environmentally responsible manner at reasonable rates with exceptional customer satisfaction,” Bawa said.

City Manager Mermell said Bawa was hired after an exhaustive, nationwide search which included reviews of more than 100 candidates. “In the end, the selection was easy because Bawa has proven himself to be an extremely capable manager in addition to having an extensive knowledge of the utility industry,” Mermell said.

Bawa has a bachelor’s degree in engineering from SVR College of Engineering and Technology, India. He is a licensed professional engineer in both mechanical and civil engineering. In 2014, he completed the Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government Senior Executives in State and Local Government certificated program.

The maximum salary for the position as posted on the City’s website is $21,675 per month.