By Rachael Kvapil
Richard Lusby has a full view of what it takes to keep Golden Valley Electric Association’s Healy power plants producing energy for Interior Alaska. After starting as a temporary laborer in 1993, he worked his way up through the ranks. Thirty years later, he oversees operations as the Healy plant manager while preparing the next generation of leadership to take over when he retires.
After 3 years in a temporary position with GVEA, Richard accepted a full-time position as a technician. Eventually, he moved up to the control room as an operator shift foreman until 2006. His next promotion as an operator mechanic meant temporarily moving out of Healy for the start of the North Pole Expansion Power Plant. In 2009, he returned to the Healy plant as a relief shift foreman and later the operations supervisor, followed by operations manager. He served as operations manager for only a few months when the plant manager position opened. He has held that position since 2015.
“I went to school to be a welder,” Richard says. “I went from the street to learning about the power industry and how to operate a power plant. So, I guess I did pretty good.”
Richard says he is involved in everything associated with power generation in Healy. He works with more than 70 employees. He says working in different positions within the plant prepared him for his current position, where it’s vital for him to interact with many people on multiple projects. Likewise, he learned a lot from previous plant managers and how they handled daily operations.
Richard and his team have faced many challenges and developed several innovative solutions over the years, particularly as it pertains to the restart and maintenance of Healy Unit 2. Last year, the GVEA Board of Directors voted to upgrade Healy Unit 1 with a new emissions control system, and at the same time, it set a goal to shut down Unit 2 by December 31, 2024. With long hours dedicated to Unit 2, Richard says that together with managers, they continue to tackle issues to keep it generating power while GVEA considers future generation decisions.
Along with the challenges, Richard has also had several career highlights during his 30 years with GVEA. He is proud of his involvement in retrofitting the North Pole Expansion Plant with a gas turbine after years of coal-fired generation.
However, past success doesn’t mean he’s not planning for the future. Richard anticipates retiring in 5 or 6 years, and his team is already working on a potential succession plan. As for those who want to be a part of the future of GVEA, Richard recommends developing a mix of enthusiasm and endurance.
“For me, I always like to learn new things, take on new challenges, and work hard,” he says. “To move from a temporary entry-level position to plant manager takes patience, and it means working as hard as you can and learning as much as you can.”
Richard moved to Alaska from Oregon with his parents and sister in 1985 after the plywood mill in Gold Beach closed down. Though his parents moved to Hawaii after retirement, his sister still lives in Alaska with her family. Richard and his wife have bought a home in Happy Valley near Homer where he can spend time on the water and fish.
In his free time, Richard enjoys rebuilding motors and fixing old cars and trucks. He recently remodeled 2 houses and built another from scratch. He is now building a rental cabin. When he isn’t building things, Richard is cooking, riding a Harley-Davidson, and spending time with his family.