Dan Beans’ (92) path to managing the electrical utility department for the City of Roseville was far from direct. From working at a gas station in his hometown to apprenticing at a pottery shop to consulting for NASA, Beans is proof that the path to your goal is not always a straight one.
“My advice for anyone is to have a goal, but do not worry if you are walking in a straight line toward that goal,” Beans said. “Keep your eyes open, learn from everything, and watch for opportunities.”
Now the CEO and electric utility director for the City of Roseville, Beans oversees 200 employees and a 200 million dollar budget. He finds passion in providing power to Roseville’s residents.
Growing up, Beans — ironically — had no electricity.
Growing up, Beans — ironically — had no electricity. He recalls completing his homework by the light of a kerosene lamp and installing a car stereo in his room so he could listen to the local radio.
“My dad always wanted to own land,” Beans said. “And we had already been collecting animals in our house [in Weaverville] for a little while, so when the opportunity came we moved out to 10 acres outside of town.”
Finally able to achieve his dream of living on a larger piece of land, Beans’ father started building a home for the family. However, when it became clear that the building process was going to take longer than expected, the family had to pivot. Beans’ father prioritized finishing the outer shell of the home so that the family would have shelter.
Once that was in place, the family slept in sleeping bags in the partially completed home with no indoor plumbing and no electricity.
“We had a camper shell top over the kitchen to keep the rain off,” Beans said. “It was definitely a weird time to be living like that [and trying to be a high schooler]. It was a little awkward.”
“I was also kind of a loner,” Beans said. “I would head out into the woods a lot to explore on my own.”
When it came time to graduate high school and choose a college, Beans wasn’t considering multiple options.
“My brother was going to PLNU, so I figured I would go there too,” Beans said. “I didn’t apply for scholarships, and I did very little planning.”
But the change from a small northern California town of 2,000 to San Diego university life was more of a culture shock than Beans originally bargained for. He struggled his first semester trying to keep up with the demands of his engineering and physics classes, especially with the material being taught in calculus.
After 11 weeks on campus, he decided to head back home and take classes at Shasta College. He found work at a local pottery studio where he met Sheree Thompson who would eventually become his wife. When she was ready to head off for her freshman year of college, she decided she wanted to attend PLNU for nursing. She suggested Beans go with her, and they returned to campus together in the fall of 1989.
“When my professors openly shared their faith, it lit a spark in me.”
“Going back to school was more appealing,” Beans said, who picked up where he had left off pursuing his degree in engineering and physics. “It was not so difficult the second time because now I had a smart girl helping me through calculus classes. She was taking nursing classes, and I was doing physics, so we studied together.
When he returned to PLNU, Beans also found further connection with his professors and to his faith.
“When my professors openly shared their faith, it lit a spark in me,” Beans said. “That’s when I realized faith isn’t just a belief — it is the very reason we are alive. After college, I started studying the Bible in earnest, and it completely transformed my life.”
His reconnection to his faith became a focal point over the next few years as he struggled to find the right job. The economy was in a recession, and he and Thompson had just gotten married. He spent several months hitting the proverbial pavement with resumes looking for anyone who was hiring.
At the same time, Beans was studying for the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam. The FE exam is the first of two exams that engineers must pass before becoming licensed professional engineers in the United States.
“It was extremely comprehensive,” Beans said. “And I was almost three years out of school when I took it, so it was even harder to recall the information I needed.”
When Beans received confirmation that he had passed the FE, he also heard from a consulting firm that he was being called in for an interview for an entry-level opening. Beans would end up working for that firm for the next 10 years, commuting from Milpitas to Weaverville, where his wife, daughter, and son were living at the time.
“I had just finished passing the test for my electrical engineering license in California when my firm decided to put me on a job consulting for NASA.”
“I had just finished passing the test for my electrical engineering license in California,” Beans said, “when my firm decided to put me on a job consulting for NASA.”
Beans’ primary focus during his work with NASA was to help test space shuttle tiles as a part of the organization’s thermal physics branch. He was also a part of upgrading NASA’s old power supply.
“I got to help bring them into the digital age by bringing in fiber optics, programmable controllers, and other software,” Beans said.
After Beans spent time consulting for NASA, he was asked to help the City of Portland with its electrical engineering. This comprehensive project helped him gain high-voltage experience, which he was able to take into his first job working for a municipal-owned utility.
“I was ready to transition away from defense work,” Beans said. “I liked utility work and how steady it was.”
Beans started with Redding Electric as an electrical engineer in 2005 before working his way through the ranks and eventually becoming electrical utility director in 2017. During his tenure, Beans ushered in a more modern approach to utility work. As the face and voice of Redding Electric, he also spent time speaking on local radio shows and generally learning how to maintain good relationships with the media.
“My time in Redding helped me to understand storytelling better and, in general, talk about complex subjects in a way others could understand,” Beans said, maintaining that his experience on the air for those local shows helped prepare him for his current advocacy work.
Now Beans splits his time between Roseville and Weaverville in northern California along with traveling across the country to Washington D.C. There he serves as vice chair on the American Public Power Association (APPA) Board of Directors and Executive Committee. APPA represents more than 2,000 towns and cities that have publicly-owned utilities on the national stage.
“APPA members feel very strongly about their mission,” Beans said. “We go out there and remind lawmakers and federal agency staff that there are actual people who are affected by their decisions … We try to bring that local perspective.”
Beyond advocating in the nation’s capital for public power, Beans has had to keep up with changes in Roseville as the city continues to grow. Over the last five years, Roseville’s population has steadily increased. Those in the utility sector like Beans have had to work together to maintain and improve infrastructure to continue delivering necessary utilities to all residents.
“Our reliability is 10 times better, and we offer a lower cost.”
“We have some really good city planning,” Beans said. “The infrastructure is in great shape and can keep up with the growth. We are a full-service city meaning we have our own fire department, police department, and all the rest. We maintain close relationships with each of those other departments so that we are all working together.”
The City of Roseville is slated to be built out entirely within the next five to six years. Beans and his team will continue to work diligently to supply all of its residents with electrical power. In addition to keeping up with demand, Beans and his employees are also focused on making sure they are building where people need it most while keeping the utility affordable.
“We are not an investor-owned company, we are owned by our customers and are accountable for the money we spend,” Beans said. “Our city council approves our budget and our rate structure.”
“The cities, especially the ones that have taken over their own utilities are in much better shape,” Beans said. “Our reliability is 10 times better, and we offer a lower cost.”
Beans alluded to the difference between large, investor-owned utility companies like San Diego Gas and Electric (SDGE) and Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) and the smaller, municipal-owned utilities like the ones he has worked for in Redding and and is now managing in Roseville. Municipal-owned companies almost always have better, lower prices and are more reliable than their investor-owned counterparts. This is due to the fact there is no profit margin to take into account.
“Our motive is to invest in our infrastructure and systems to make sure we stay ahead,” Beans said. “We do not spend money just to spend money.”
When he’s not managing Roseville’s electric utility or advocating for public power on the national level, you can find Beans at Disneyland with his granddaughters, flying a Cessna plane, or working in his pottery studio.
