An entity which manages the Highland Lakes has tapped a can -
didate, who oversaw the largest city-owned utili - ty in the country, as its new general manager.
The Lower Colorado River Authority Board of Directors appointed Rudy D. Garza of San Antonio as the regula - tory agency's 12th gen - eral manager. Garza succeeds LCRA's Acting Gener - al Manager and Chief Financial Officer Jim Travis. Travis has been filling the role follow - ing the resignation of Phil Wilson in March.
"Rudy Garza has led through challenges and growth," said LCRA Board Stephen F. Coo - per in a statement. "He knows what it takes to build trust with com - munities, manage com -
plex operations and keep people at the cen - ter of the work." Garza has worked for CPS Energy, the nation's largest munic - ipally owned electric and natural gas utility, since 2012.
He made his way up
GM
... Page 5 the ranks from customer service and operational management positions to eventually be tapped as the president and CEO in August 2022.
CPS Energy, which has over a million util - ity customers, provides electricity and natural gas to San Antonians and surrounding counties. He was paid approximate ly $734,000 per year. According to an LCRA statement: "Under his leadership, CPS Energy implemented Vision 2027, a five-year stra tegic plan that strength ened operations and
added more than 3,300 megawatts of generation capacity through a se ries of natural gas plant acquisitions in South and Southeast Texas." Prior to coming to San Antonio, Garza worked for the City of Corpus Christi as assistant city manager of business sup port services and director of intergovernmental re lations.
Garza offered insight into his philosophy about his task ahead.
"LCRA has a proud history and tremendous people with deep expe rience," Garza said in a statement. "It's a team that knows its mission and takes it seriously. Managing the lower Col orado River, delivering reliable power and water, and serving communities across Central Texas. "This is not abstract work," he added. "The stakes are real, and the peo ple here understand that." Garza earned a Bach elor of Science in elec trical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. At that school, he serves on the Cockrell School of Engineering Advisory Board. Also, Garza has a Mas ter of Business Adminis tration from the Universi ty of North Texas. Other boards in which he serves include the Large Public Power Council, the Keystone Policy Center and the American Gas Associa tion.
He was elected to the Electric Power Research Institute Board of Direc tors. He begins his tour in August.
LCRA's history of leadership demonstrates a commitment to longterm service: - In 1935, Clarence McDonough was ap -
pointed LCRA's first general manager. Mc Donough, who was a for mer engineer for the Ten nessee Valley Authority, oversaw the launch of construction of the High land Lakes dam system as well as the early elec tric transmission grid.
- In 1956, Sim Gide on served as the gener al manager, serving the longest in LCRA history. Over 17 years, he steered LCRA through a spike in population and electrici ty demand.
- From 2014 to 2026, Phil Wilson served in the position and guided the entity through a series of severe drought events and water disputes; Wil son oversaw an expan sion of transmission and wholesale power infra - structure which included a billion dollars in dam upgrades and a state-of-the-art power plant re placement in Horseshoe Bay.
Garza will join the LCRA staff on July 20.
Travis, the acting GM, will resume his responsi bilities as chief financial officer after the transi tion.
About LCRA
LCRA was created by the Texas state legisla ture in 1934 to manage the Colorado River. The Highland Lakes, created by a series of dams in the heart of the Hill Country, has hundreds of com munities and millions of residents along the waterway which rely on water for domestic use. LCRA, which oversees and operates the dams, is governed by a 15-mem ber board of directors ap pointed by the governor and managed by a gen eral manager. LCRA is a nonprofit political subdi vision of the state.
