LA City Council set to confirm PG&E executive as new LADWP general manager with $750,000 salary

If approved, Janisse Quiñones will lead the LA Department of Water and Power through the transition toward 100% clean energy by 2035.

The Los Angeles City Council is expected Tuesday to confirm longtime Pacific Gas and Electric executive Janisse Quiñones as the next general manager of the Department of Water and Power.

Mayor Karen Bass nominated Quiñones after a nationwide search for a new leader, prompted by general manager Martin Adams’ announcement that he would be retiring. If approved, Quiñones will lead the department through the transition toward 100% clean energy by 2035.

Last week, the council’s Energy and Environment Committee voted in support of Quiñones to serve as the head of the agency that serves thousands of residents across the city. The committee also backed the Board of Water and Power Commissioners in paying Quiñones a salary of $750,000 a year — nearly twice as much as her predecessor.

Last year, the City Council approved a new salary range between $435,000 to $751,000 for the general managers, who oversee the city’s DWP, port and airport. The new salaries went into effect December 2023.

“I look forward to working with Janisse to deliver for the people of Los Angeles,” Bass had said in a statement when she nominated Quiñones in April.

“This is a transformational period for the department as we make decisions that will build toward the goal of 100% renewable energy by 2035, and I am confident that Janisse’s experience overseeing large scale organizational operations, improving safety outcomes for workers and restoring and reconstructing electrical systems following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico equip her to lead the department,” her statement continued.

According to the mayor’s office, Quiñones brings more than 25 years of leadership experience as a senior executive in utility and engineering industries where she managed large-scale operations in order to deliver reliable service to customers, prioritized the safety of workers on the job and directed improvements that made electrical infrastructure more resilient.

Quiñones had called it an “honor” to be nominated by Bass as general manager.

“Throughout my career, I have worked to make sure that communities have access to reliable, clean, safe and sustainable utilities, and I will continue with that same dedication in this role,” Quiñones said in a statement.

Bass had also thanked Adams for his accomplishments and “decades of leadership to the people of Los Angeles.”

While Adams had previously announced his departure by the end of March, he had agreed to stay on for a limited time to help with the transition to new leadership.