FLOYD L. GOSS 1907-1980

BY ARTHUR HAUSPURG

FLOYD L. GOSS, former Chief Electrical Engineer and Assistant Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADW&P), died at the age of seventy-three in Los Angeles, Cali­fornia, on December 25, 1980. Mr. Goss will be best known, remembered, and appreciated for his very significant work in the field of regional and national power supply planning and reliability, including operation and design. He was a man of great integrity who was also a powerful leader and supporter of the electric utility indus­try. He left his mark in many ways, not least of which was his continuing concern, appreciation, and willingness to support those responsible for the successful operation of electric utilities.

After a thirty-nine-year career with the LADW&P, Mr. Goss retired in September 1972, but continued in a consulting capacity in the electrical industry, particularly in the area of reliability. He par­ticipated in the formation of regional and national reliability organizations, the National Electric Reliability Council and the Western Systems Coordinating Council. He served as Founding Chairman of both organizations.

Floyd Goss was born on August 25, 1907, in Columbia, Missouri, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1931. As an under­ graduate at Berkeley he worked as a student engineer for LADW&P during vacations. During his professional career with LADW&P beginning in 1933, Mr. Goss ascended from his first position as an electrical tester to Chief Electrical Engineer and Assistant Manager. During the early years of his career, he did extensive work on transmission line vibration, coronaloss, and lightning in connection with the design and operation of the Boulder transmission lines. After successfully meet­ ing the challenges of several progressively higher positions of respon­sibility, he was promoted in September 1966 to Chief Electrical Engineer and Assistant Manager. He continued successfully to fulfill the demands of this position until his retirement in September 1972.

During his career Mr. Goss contributed to many professional groups. He was a member of the United States Electric Light and Power Utility Study Group as well as the Federal Power Commis­sion's Advisory Commission on Reliability of Bulk Power Supply and its Advisory Group for Emergency Generating Facilities. He was a Past President of the Los Angeles Electric Club and served as a member of the Managerial Committee of the Western Energy Supply and Transmission Associates and the Policy Committee for the Pacific Northwest-Southwest Coordinating Council.

Mr. Goss was the former Chairman and a member of the Board of Directors of Western Systems Coordinating Council (WESTCON). He served on the Board of Governors of the California Municipal Utilities Association, was a member of the National Power Policy Subcommittee, and a member of the Industry Advisory Commission of the State Department of Industrial Relations. He was one of the founding fathers, in 1968, of the National Electric Reliability Council, working as its first Chairman and then its President until April 1975; he remained a close personal friend and adviser to many on the board until his death.

Mr. Goss was a fellow in the Institute for the Advancement of Engineering and a member of Theta Chi Fraternity, Tau Beta Pi, and Eta Kappa Nu honorary engineering societies. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in April 1979.

Floyd Goss's achievements included many articles published in trade magazines, including "Power Engineer at Work," which appeared in Power Engineering in 1967. A pioneer in the development of electric power facilities, he was granted a patent in 1940 for "Method of and Means for Damping Cable Vibration." Vibration dampers covered by this patent were used on a portion of the 287.5- kilovolt transmission line between Hoover Dam and Los Angeles.

For his outstanding leadership in developing an efficient and reli­able power system for the City of Los Angeles and for his distinctive contributions to the power industry, Floyd Goss was the recipient of the James D. Donovan Personal Achievement Award presented by the American Public Power Association.

Because of his active engineering role in the development of major electric power facilities including the Harbor, Valley, Scattergood, and Haynes generating plants, the Pacific Intertie, Castaic Power Project, Mohave Power Plant, and the Navajo Power Plant, Mr. Goss was one of the three members of the Panel of Consultants commissioned by the Con Edison Board of Trustees to review the July 1977 blackout of New York City and Westchester County. His invaluable operating expertise contributed significantly to the understanding and delineation of the causes of the blackout. Further, all of his incisive corrective recommendations were accepted and implemented by the company.

Mr. Goss was active in church and community activities with Our Mother of Good Counsel Church and the Griffith Park Recreation Department, serving as coach for a variety of youth teams . Survivors are his wife, Harriet; children, Richard, Janet, and Libby; grandchild, James; and brother, Glenn.