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The Sacramento Bee and Nehemiah Leaders Programs are celebrating this year’s 60 Change Makers. Join them at our gala at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at the Grand Sheraton in downtown Sacramento. Buy tickets at sacramentochangemakers.com.
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For Lora Anguay, the transition to a cleaner energy future is not a distant goal — it’s today’s work.
As CEO and general manager for Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Anguay has helped reshape how the Sacramento region generates, stores and delivers electricity. Her leadership has been central to SMUD’s goal of eliminating carbon emissions from its power supply by 2030.
Anguay oversaw more than $500 million in annual operations, including energy resource planning, power generation, research and development, strategic partnerships and customer programs. Her work has played a key role in SMUD’s shift toward renewable energy and grid modernization.
Under her leadership, SMUD has expanded renewable energy resources, invested in large-scale battery storage and strengthened grid reliability. Projects such as the Hedge Solar Farm battery storage pilot have demonstrated how emerging technologies can support a cleaner and more resilient energy system. She has also championed smart meters, grid automation and advanced energy management tools that improve efficiency and reliability.
The benefits extend beyond the power grid. Anguay’s work supports efforts to improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build a more sustainable future across the Sacramento region. She has also emphasized energy equity to ensure more customers benefit from the clean-energy transition.
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Anguay said the work being done today will help future generations experience cleaner air and lessen the impacts of climate change.
“I also think that within the Sacramento region we have an opportunity of leveraging this transition to create jobs and to attract businesses within the clean energy space,” Anguay said. “I do hope that it strengthens our local economy, not just from the clean-air perspective but also through economic development.”
Anguay credits much of her success to the people around her. She says she is most proud of the relationships she has built during her two decades at SMUD.
“If you think about change, not everyone likes change, and so it’s a hard thing to implement,” Anguay said. “But to have implemented change within SMUD over the last 20 years and still have really good working relationships across the company, I think it speaks volumes to how things have gotten done.”
Outside the utility, she serves on the Sacramento State Foundation Board of Directors, the Roseville Area Chamber of Commerce and advisory groups including the Electric Power Research Institute Research Advisory Committee and the UC Davis Energy and Efficiency Institute Board of Advisors.
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