Dick Peffley’s experience at the Lansing Board of Water & Light (BWL) is extensive, having served in many capacities in the electric and water utilities as one of BWL’s longest serving employees. He joined the BWL in 1976 as a janitor at Erickson Power Station. A family affair, Dick’s father, Roy E. Peffley oversaw the construction of the Erickson plant and later retired from the BWL after a long career of overseeing power plant construction around the world. The Roy E. Chilled Water Plant was later renamed in his honor.Peffley was later promoted to the manager of Erickson after finishing his associate degree in science. He was promoted again to the Manager of Operations, which he did for 10 years.
In 2006, he was asked by the BWL Board of Commissioners to serve as interim general manager. After the permanent position was filled, Dick returned to his position of Manager of Operations, later promoted to Director of Water Operations and eventually Executive Director of Operations, overseeing all utility service operations. He was again named General Manger by the BWL Board of Commissioners on September 22, 2015, which is the role he has continued to serve since.
Peffley’s leadership over the BWL, Michigan’s largest publicly owned utility with approximately 100,000 electric customers and 58,000 water customers, is paving the way to a coal-free, cleaner energy future with commitments to an expanded renewable energy portfolio and carbon neutrality.
In January 2022, he oversaw contract negotiations for a battery cell manufacturing plant, a transformational $2.6 billion investment that supports electric vehicle production in Lansing. He oversaw the development and construction of the $500 million natural gas-fired Delta Energy Park, and in 2021, successfully renegotiated a coal contract which resulted in $52 million of savings over two years.
Peffley oversaw the completion to remove all lead water service lines in 2016, the second utility in the country to do so, and led the Water Department’s efforts that distributed a record-breaking 1 billion gallons of water in a single month to customers during the heat wave in July 2013. Peffley was also the project manager for the $20 million chilled water plant name after his father, which came in on time and on budget.
Peffley was the project manager for the $182 million natural gas-fired REO Congeneration Plant and Headquarters, which came in on time and on budget in 2013.
Peffley's commitment to a cleaner energy future goes beyond his role as general manager. He installed a residential, 20,000 watt solar array in his backyard that he constructed himself. Peffley also serves as a board member for the Michigan Munical Electric Association (MMEA).