Imperial, California - Today, the Imperial Irrigation District took the following actions to realign personnel and reporting relationships within the Energy Department:

Effective on October 19, Vicken Kasarjian will become the energy manager in charge of transmission and planning. In this new role, he joins Carl Stills, who will head up energy operations.

Kasarjian’s career in the energy industry spans nearly 30 years and includes stints at Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Northern California Power Agency, the California Independent System Operator and the state Department of Water Resources. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from California State University Los Angeles in 1986.

At IID, Kasarjian will focus on the transmission, planning and engineering functions but will also assume management control of system operations, generation and regulatory affairs, among other key responsibilities.

IID General Manager Kevin Kelley said that Kasarjian’s depth of experience and standing in the industry send the right message – both internally and externally – at a time of fundamental change in the electric utility business in California and throughout the West. He went on to say that hiring Kasarjian is an important step forward in responding to the demands and expectations of an evolving energy landscape.

“With the state’s renewable portfolio standard moving from 33 to 50 percent by 2030 and the proposed expansion of CAISO into adjoining states, the challenges to IID’s balancing authority area will only increase,” Kelley said. “By adding Vicken Kasarjian to its energy management team, the district is better positioned to preserve both its public power business model and historically low rates.”

Also effective today, said Kelley, IID placed several employees who work in the transmission, planning and engineering sections on paid administrative leave. Kelley called this a personnel matter and declined to elaborate further.