Imperial Irrigation District confirms Jamie Asbury as named new general manager
The Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors voted unanimously for Jamie Asbury, current IID Energy Department Manager, to serve as the next General Manager of the nation’s largest irrigation district and third-largest public power provider in California.
After an extensive recruitment process, which began in January following the announcement of then-General Manager Henry Martinez’s intent to retire, the board selected Asbury to lead the IID.
Asbury is the first woman in the district’s 112-year history to lead the district.
“We are proud to select Ms. Asbury to lead the district into a new day,” said Board President Alex Cardenas. “Her proven track record of continued successful leadership throughout her career at IID will carry forward in leading major forward-thinking initiatives at the regional, national, and binational levels and confronting critical upcoming water and power challenges successfully.”
As Energy Department Manager, Asbury directed the essential functions of the department, overseeing administration, regulatory policy, customer programs, operations, energy maintenance, generation and more to meet the district’s strategic plan and the department’s goals and objectives. She has served IID since 2007, holding a number of positions within the Energy Department, General Counsel’s Office, and General Services Department.
During her time at the district she served as contract administration specialist on the All-American Canal Lining Project; was IID’s transactional team leader in the $80 million acquisition of the 20-megawatt SunPeak Solar facility; negotiated and finalized contracts supporting the upgrade of IID’s S-Line 230kV transmission infrastructure, securing a third-party contribution of $40 million based upon a favorable litigation settlement; conducted an open season process that resulted in the Path 42 Upgrade, a Western Electricity Coordinating Council rated path, from 600 megawatts to 1,455 megawatts; and since 2012, facilitated interconnection of more than 500 megawatts of renewable energy generation through IID’s tariff process.
A member of the California State Bar, since March 2020, Asbury also served IID as Associate Counsel on energy issues, advising management, staff and a citizen advisory committee on regulatory, legislative, transmission planning and operations, wholesale markets, retail service and complex transactional matters. She has also been actively engaged in stakeholder advocacy at the state and federal levels, including the California Energy Commission, California Public Utilities Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and California Independent System Operator Corporation (CAISO) and served as a key negotiator for all energy-related contracts and purchase/sale transactions.
“IID is an established and driving force in both the energy and water sectors on regional and national levels and it has a tremendous responsibility to serve the public good,” Asbury said. “I am excited and humbled by the opportunity to lead this organization at such an important time in its history and sincerely appreciate the board’s confidence that we can achieve IID’s goals.”
In her new role, Asbury will be responsible for leading IID’s daily and long-term operations, implementing the policies and strategic direction of the Board of Directors, and working with federal, state, regional and local officials to carry out IID’s mission to provide water and power to communities it serves across the Imperial and Coachella Valleys of Southern California.
