The Power is Now Interview with Girish Balachandran

Girish Balachandran is a 24-year veteran of California municipal utilities (including water, electricity and natural gas). Currently he is the General Manager of Riverside Public Utilities (RPU), which serves electricity to approximately 105,000 customers and water to approximately 65,000 customers, and is one of the largest municipal utilities in California.
Since joining RPU in 2014, Balachandran has initiated a number of innovative and collaborative processes focused on the following priorities: rebuilding aging water and electrical infrastructure, utilizing advanced technology to improve service delivery and customer satisfaction, developing the workforce to meet new skills needed in the utility of the future, and developing business models for the utility to adapt and thrive in a an uncertain environment.

Before joining RPU, Balachandran served as General Manager of Alameda Municipal Power (AMP) for seven years. Balachandran led a series of changes that resulted in AMP’s #1 rating in residential customer satisfaction after years of steady improvement, bond-rating increase from A- to A+, and selling a failing telecom system to end years of financial losses.
Prior to his tenure in Alameda, Balachandran served in a variety of capacities with the City of Palo Alto Utilities, including Assistant Director of Utilities, Resource Management. He started his career as an analyst with Pasadena Water and Power after obtaining his Masters in Electrical Engineering from University of California, Los Angeles.