BPU General Manager, David Leathers, is set to retire from his position which he has held for the last 18 and a half years, at the end of this month.
P-J photo by Sara Holthouse
As David Leathers, Board Of Public Utilities general manager, prepares for retirement at the end of the month, he is also looking back at his career with the BPU, spanning back to 20 years ago.
Leathers’s career has not just been in power generation, with the BPU having multiple other divisions including electric, water, wastewater, district heat, and solid waste. Before, Leathers was involved in automotive manufacturing in the area for about 15 years, splitting that time between Cummins and Valeo which is now TitanX, making the transition primarily because he wanted to keep his family in the Jamestown area. The board chairman at the time, John Zabrosky, knew Leathers before and helped to bring him in as well.
Leathers has been the BPU’s General Manager specifically for 18 and a half years, which includes time as interim general manager. He was also general manager in his position at Valeo.
“I think the position was probably a good fit for both me and the organization,” Leathers said. “We have extremely capable and talented and committed employees and I think me coming in with business and management experience was a good fit for the organization and has gone well across the years.”
With the decision to retire now, and his official last day being January 23, Leathers said the decision to retire feels “awkward but good”. While he said he did not know if someone is ever sure if it is the right time to retire, over the last few months he has become a bit more comfortable with the idea and transition.
“Again, I think our employees are extremely capable and they have a great handle on our business operations and all of the projects that are being handled right now,” Leathers said. “It seems like the right time for me personally, and a good time for those in the organization to take on more and broader responsibilities.”
While he will not be involved in municipal power generation anymore, Leathers said the future of said municipal power generation in the area remains uncertain because of so many questions at both the state and federal levels. This remains an important question that the BPU faces, especially as Leathers said the overwhelming majority of municipal and cooperative electric utilities in New York State do not have their own generating assets. All of them get their hydropower from NYPA, but those systems have to purchase off of the grid if they need more electricity for their systems than the allocated hydropower energy they have.
“The BPU is different and I would say we’re very unique and fortunate that we have our own power plant,” Leathers said. “As a result we can generate when the grid prices are volatile or high when our system needs more electricity. This allows us to keep electric prices stable during very cold and very hot periods of volatility. The other utilities are more exposed to higher customer billing during those times.”
Leathers noted that the BPU generates with natural gas, but with the state looking to transition away from that they will continue to keep an eye on that with the hope to be able to invest in new technology for generation in the coming years before the current plant and assets are impacted.
“I would say overall it’s a little difficult right now because the path forward isn’t super clear or known at this time,” Leathers said.
While the path ahead may be unclear for overall municipal power generation, Leathers said the future of the BPU looks bright. He said they will continue to provide their services to the community at affordable rates and that BPU employees work hard to support customers and be responsive to system needs.
“I would say we strive to be a positive light for the residents and businesses in the greater Jamestown area,” Leathers said. “I think on any given day in our area you can see challenges and difficulties and you can also see cool things that are happening and improvements that are being made. We each have a choice every day, which one do we want to focus on, talk about and prioritize? I would say at the utility we understand the difficulties and challenges and recognize them, but we really look at the positive and try to expand on all of the good things that are going on in our community.”
Leathers reemphasized his appreciation of the BPU’s “outstanding employees and board of directors,” saying that they work hard to prioritize, respond to and serve their customers. He added he thinks they achieve “amazing results overall,” also recognizing other organizations and nonprofits in the area, along with elected officials that are committed to bettering the Jamestown community.
“I’ve been fortunate and blessed to work with so many talented and capable individuals over the years and that’s another positive light in the community is how many organizations and elected officials and people that are trying to make it better here,” Leathers said.