Redding City Manager Barry Tippin today announced the appointment of Dan Beans as Director of the Redding Electric Utility (REU). He succeeds Tippin, who was appointed City Manager June 6, 2017.
Beans has served as Assistant Director of the Electric Utility responsible for the Utility Operations Division (Line Operations, Engineering, and Power Plant) and, more recently, as Acting Utility Director since Tippin’s appointment. Prior to that time he served as an electrical engineer, engineering manager, and Assistant Director over Resource Planning. He will assume his new duties on September 24, 2017.
“Dan Beans has served REU expertly in a number of capacities and I know he will lead this complex organization in a manner that will continue to benefit the citizens of Redding,” said Tippin.
Beans was chosen following a national search that attracted applicants from both within and outside California. The position was advertised widely in state and national publications. His annual salary will be $189,792 per year.
As Electric Director, Beans will have overall responsibility for REU, reporting directly to the City Manager. That responsibility includes oversight of the Utility’s distribution system and its power generation, including the Redding Power Plant in South Redding, and a hydroelectric plant at Whiskeytown Lake. Formed as a locally owned municipal utility in 1921, REU serves an area of approximately 65 square miles with more than 700 miles of distribution lines. It has an annual budget of $145 million and 180 full-time employees.
Beans is a licensed Professional Electrical Engineer with the State of California and was previously registered in Oregon. Dan came to the Redding Electric Department over 12 years ago after spending over 12 years in the private sector where he performed electrical engineering for NASA, the City of Portland, and numerous other public and private organizations through a local consulting engineering firm. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering Physics from Point Loma Nazarene University and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration with an emphasis in Public Finance from National University. He and his wife, Sheree, have three grown children.