David Luschen
For LPEA District 4“From front-line utility engineer to Executive Management, I have spent my career working in utilities. With my decades of experience, I can provide the board guidance on the upcoming decisions on the Tri-State contract and decisions on our future energy supply sources, focusing on our local power supply.
I am an excellent advocate for our customers and have a deep knowledge of the ins and outs of the business. As your board member, I will utilize my expertise to prioritize local energy and affordability. LPEA’s future is bright, and with your vote, we can have a positive impact on that future.”
Q&A
What should LPEA's next steps be in their contract with Tri-State?
LPEA Board is simultaneously pursuing three options for Tri-State: (1) staying with Tri-State and working to increase contract flexibility (2) fully exiting the contract (3) or finding a middle option. I support this three-prong strategy. However, once the FERC action is complete with the Tri-State Contract buyout cost, the LPEA Board should do an in-depth cost analysis and fully exit the contract if we can maintain our affordable rates.
How does your experience make you a good fit for the LPEA board?
With my decades of electric utility experience specifically in the “wires” side of the business I know the technical, financial, labor, rates, and member service ins and outs of electric utilities. Additionally, I have Board experience with Boysvilletexas.org (a non-profit boys and girls children’s home and shelter), Optimist International – San Antonio Chapter, and Edgemont Highlands HOA.
In the next three years, what will be your top priority as a LPEA board member?
First to uphold LPEAs Mission of safe, reliable electricity at the lowest reasonable cost while being environmentally responsible. This likely leads to an exit of the Tri-State contract, and starting the process for LPEA member owned local solar generation!
Why do you want to be on the LPEA Board?
To grow deeper roots in my community. I have family in Durango, and this is such a great place to live, recreate, and, with everyone being so friendly, build community. The LPEA Board is such a good fit to give back with my skills and knowledge. I want to provide a brighter future for our kids and kids’ kids. This can be obtained through sustainable power at a reasonable cost.
Do you support local solar projects such as the Sunnyside Community Solar project?
I fully support Community Solar projects; and what a great learning tool the Sunnyside Solar project will be to allow our Community to participate in sustainable energy and local solar.
My Resume
Experience:
Retired from CPS Energy, June 2018
Senior Director, Executive Customer Relationships , CPS Energy, January 2017– June 2018
As Senior Director I set up the newly created Executive Customer Relationships office to improve CPS Energy’s Customer Service with our largest stakeholders and our Owner the City of San Antonio (COSA). Involved with COSA sponsored Process Improvement meetings between our Builder / Developer community and CPS Energy’s Distribution Design Department to include software improvement to facilitate new gas and electric service requests. My Team was also responsible for strengthening our Customer Service relationships with our largest Customers including Toyota Manufacturing, Valero, Whataburger, HEB, etc.
Director, Construction and Maintenance ESD & UG , CPS Energy, November 2012 – January 2017 Director over the Eastern Service District (ESD) which is one of three Service Districts that construct and maintains CPS Energy’s electric distribution assets. At ESD I oversee 180 employees which work in one of the following Crew crafts: Overhead Distribution Construction, Overhead Distribution Maintenance, Service & Meter, Underground Residential Distribution, and Underground Electric Distribution. I am also the Director over our Underground (Malone) Center. My span of control at Malone is 100 employees in either the Underground (UG) Craft Section or UG Civil Section. The UG Craft can be further delineated into Network Capital, Network Maintenance, JBSA, Substation, Large Commercial, and a 3-Phase pad mount crew. CPS Energy’s wage scale employees are represented by the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers (IBEW) Local 500 and I interface with Union Representation on a daily basis to manage my employees. I am proud to be the Executive sponsor for the CPS Energy’s Linesman Rodeo Team.
Read More of David's Resume
My core responsibilities as Director include the oversight of the Transmission and Substation Capital Budget, and ensuring these projects are built on time and within scope. The Transmission and Substation Department provides yearly budgets and staffing requirements for Capital Projects, performs required engineering for these Projects, writes/procures construction and service contracts, and oversees/supports internal construction crews. I oversee 80 employees and have a yearly combined Capital Transmission and Substation Budget that ranges from $80 million to $100 million per year. Areas in this department include: Transmission Engineering, Transmission Maintenance Crews, Substation Engineering, Civil Engineering, System Protection Engineering, System Protection Technical Services Crews, Utility Coordination, and Project Management. Leading and coordinating these sections empowers me to control the majority of the Capital and O&M dollars spent for CPS Energy’s Transmission infrastructure and TCOS (Transmission Cost of Service PUC reimbursement) spending. I am the Owner of the CPS Energy “Routing and Siting” public process for new Transmission line, Substation, and Switchyard projects. This involves hosting public project input sessions, updating local and state elected officials face to face, and meeting one on one with impacted landowners. In addition, I work with AEP and LCRA on ERCOT mandated joint transmission line projects where we do an end to end “Routing and Siting” process. I have provided direct testimony to the Texas PUC for CPS Energy’s effort to build a portion of the CREZ Project. I implemented Bentley’s Projectwise DMS software for my Engineering Sections, Bentley’s Substation 3D software for my Substation Section, and EnoServ relay software for my System Protection office and field Sections. My NERC responsibilities include – System Protection (regulatory compliance – settings, maintenance), Transmission Design & Maintenance (vegetation management), Substation(physical and cyber security), and develop, implement, and complete the NERC transmission facility rating project.
Section Supervisor, Transmission Design Section, CPS Energy, October 2003 – September 2005
The focus of my responsibilities as Transmission Engineering Supervisor was to align the dollars budgeted on Capital Transmission Projects with the Energy Delivery Services (EDS) goals and business requirements. This included utilizing all the resources available in the most productive, cost effective manner. Immediately upon starting this assignment, I implemented PLS-CADD design and LiDAR surveying for all capital transmission line projects. My other duties involved supporting the CPS Energy “Routing and Siting” process for new Transmission line projects, Transmission Maintenance support, Transmission Civic Improvement and Right-of-way support, and Transmission material management, as well as participated as a Transmission root cause team member. Also, I provided expert witness testimony for easement an/or land in fee condemnation cases ranging from temporary restraining orders, Commissioners Court hearings, to actual trial.
Project Manager, Project Management and Performance Improvement Section, CPS Energy, May 2002 – October 2003
As the lead project manager for EDS, I implemented and initiated the Process Improvement Initiative for Transmission and Substation Capital Projects. This included forming the TRANCO Process Improvement Committee (PIC), which developed a set of procedures to manage TRANCO Capital Project Work.
SAP BIS/WMS Core Team Member, CPS Energy, August 2000 – May 2002
The Business Information Systems (BIS) project was an $80 million computer upgrade to implement an enterprise resource planning system, an SAP solution, for CPS Energy. As a core team member my responsibilities were to assist in the configuration and implementation of the software purchased to manage construction projects. In the Customer Installation Design phase of the project I mapped the transactional flow of my business unit’s capital construction process from initiation to accounting close. For the Implementation phase, I created project structures for transmission and substation projects. I also oversaw the creation of the Configurable Standard Networks (CSNs), a planning tool used to estimate labor, material and equipment required to construct the projects. For “Go Live”, I provided Tier 1 (frontline) customer support.
SAP Training Courses: SAP20 – SAP R/3 Overview, CA800 – Structures in Project Management, CA080 – Project Management, CA820 – SAP PS Scheduling, CA840 – SAP PS Reporting
Project Engineer, Civil Engineering Section, CPS Energy, January 1992 – August 2000
As a project engineer in civil engineering, I provided services related to structural, geotechnical, water resources, environmental and transportation engineering. I produced the plans and specifications to construct the civil-related works associated with high voltage transmission line projects, transmission switchyard projects, and electric distribution substation projects. Also, I provided the support required to CPS crews or outside resources on project construction in a cost effective and timely manner.
Project Engineer, Butler Manufacturing Co., December 1985 – January 1992
While at Butler Manufacturing, I performed structural design and coordination of the detailing to adapt pre-engineered building components to custom applications. Custom designs included special building codes, special loads and non-standard geometrics. I worked directly with the “Butler Builders” external end use customers and internal customers (i.e. manufacturing, estimating, and scheduling) to provide the Butler building on time, on cost, and within scope.
Education:
- University of Idaho Utility Executive Course, June 2007
- Master of Business Administration, December 1988, Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, Texas
- Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, December 1985, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
Civic Affiliations:
- Board Member – Optimist International – San Antonio Chapter until 2021
- President – Optimist International – San Antonio Chapter 2012-2013 and 2020-2021
- Board Member – Boysville (A non-profit residential home, emergency shelter and foster care facility for boys and girls.) until 2021
Staff Pasture Parish Relationship Committee Chair – Oak Meadow United Methodist Church 2019-2021