Each year at the ElectriCities Annual Conference, we recognize individuals for their outstanding contributions to public power.
At the 2025 conference:
- Cody Leis from Statesville received the Rising Star Award.
- Bill Stockman from Lexington received the Distinguished Service Award.
- Grant Goings from Wilson received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Let’s meet the 2025 Public Power Rising Star Award recipient, Cody Leis.
The Rising Star Award recognizes up-and-coming leaders who have less than 10 years of experience and who, in that relatively short time, have made significant and sustained contributions to the electric utility industry and to public power.
Ask pretty much anyone who works for the City of Statesville about the contributions Cody Leis has made, and, whether it’s the city clerk, city manager, assistant city manager, mayor, or people Cody supervises, and you’ll hear a chorus of kudos.
They’ll talk about his exceptional leadership and how knowledgeable he is.
They’ll say the renewed sense of urgency and drive he brought to the electric department has completely transformed its energy.
They’ll tell you how he’s worked to complete projects that have been ongoing for years and how he takes time to listen, guide, and help everyone and to fight for needed changes.
They’ll tell you how truly dedicated Cody is to his employees, to customers, and to making Statesville’s power grid more reliable than ever.
They’ll talk about how Cody has earned the respect of his colleagues, built trust with the community and council, and positioned the utility for long-term success.
They’ll say he’s an awesome guy to work for.
And they haven’t even known him for two years yet.
Cody joined Statesville Public Power in October 2023 as the Assistant Director. He moved to North Carolina from Texas after working with the City of College Station, another public power community, for nearly eight years.
From the moment he joined the organization, he demonstrated strong leadership, a clear vision, and a deep commitment to serving the community. Despite being new to Statesville and to North Carolina, he immediately filled a void with his insight and decision-making ability.
When the Director position became vacant in January 2024, he was tapped to be the Interim Director. By April, he was named Director.
In less than two years, Cody has brought impressive energy and innovation to Statesville Public Power.
He has led the successful standardization of equipment specifications, including transformers, switchgear, insulators, poles, and crossarms. These efforts have improved reliability, reduced complexity, and positioned the department for greater efficiency in the future.
He initiated a new line extension policy that places the financial responsibility for major infrastructure expansions on developers rather than on the City. This policy shift promotes smarter, more sustainable growth and protects City resources.
Understanding the importance of community connection, Cody led the rebranding of Statesville’s electric department to Statesville Public Power to raise awareness about the value of public power and the importance of local ownership and accountability. This initiative has helped educate customers and strengthen trust between the department and the community it serves.
From a technical perspective, Cody has overseen the conversion of four 4kV circuits—a goal that had been on the department’s to-do list for years. He also implemented advanced technology, including Safegrid, which supports predictive fault detection, and he has begun rolling out an outage management system to improve response times and service reliability.
His accomplishments in such a short time speak volumes.
Statesville Assistant City Manager Scott Harrell said, “Despite being younger than two-thirds of the utility’s employees, Cody has established himself as their leader and has embraced the challenge of leading Statesville Public Power into the future.”ay-to-day basis, I’m excited to see where we’ll be in the next five years under his leadership.”
Statesville Mayor Costi Kutteh, who presented Cody with the award, said, “He truly represents the next generation of leadership in public power.”
Jason Lee, Statesville’s former Electric Utilities Business Development Specialist, put it well when he said, “There’s so much more Cody offers on a day-to-day basis, I’m excited to see where we’ll be in the next five years under his leadership.”
We are too. Cody, congratulations on being this year’s Public Power Rising Star.
Learn about Bill Stockman, recipient of the 2025 Distinguished Service Award, and Grant Goings, recipient of the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award.