Steam Plant Operating Supervisor, Haynes Generating Station, Long Beach California
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Subcommittee: Electric Power Insights Sessions
Larry Lesh is a Steam Plant Operating Supervisor for the City of Los Angeles, Department of Water and Power (LADWP). In this capacity, he oversees operations for LADWP’s 1738 MW Haynes Generating Station. Prior to this current assignment Larry served at all levels of equipment and control room operations, as well as serving in the role of operations scheduler.
He began his career in 1999 as a steam plant assistant, supporting the recommissioning of the 512 MW Valley Generating Station. This experience shaped the trajectory of his career, often gravitating toward assignments in support of system repair, upgrade, and recommissioning. His experience includes leadership assignments at the plant and system level, as well as roles in outage leadership for fuel recommissioning, major SIRs, WECC certification, and system upgrades such as control systems and SCADA. Larry has operating experience on conventional circulation boilers, combustion turbines, Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSG), super critical boilers, and methane fired micro-turbines.
Larry is a proud member of IBEW Local 18, and a strong advocate for workers’ rights and elevating the contribution of the blue-collar workforce, and has represented labor on joint labor-management committees throughout the LADWP/IBEW Local 18 ecosystem. Serving as a shop steward for 13 years, Larry is known for his subject matter expertise of organization and regulatory policy, as well as the IBEW Code of Excellence. Larry prides himself on his strong knowledge of the power system and is a champion for technological and workforce innovations. He considers it a great honor to mentor the rising generation of electrical worker and to support their professional and personal growth.