NEW ORLEANS (June 03, 2025) — Calvin Butler, president and CEO of Chicago-based Exelon, today was elected chair of the board of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the national association of investor-owned electric companies. David Campbell, chairman and CEO of Kansas City, Mo.-based Evergy, and Chris Womack, chairman, president, and CEO of Atlanta-based Southern Company, were elected vice chairs.
EEI’s Board elected Butler, Campbell, and Womack during the institute’s annual meeting in New Orleans. EEI’s chair rotates on an annual basis, and Butler succeeds Maria Pope, president and CEO of Portland, Ore.-based Portland General Electric.
“EEI and our member electric companies are grateful to Maria Pope for her strong and steadfast leadership as EEI chair,” said EEI interim President and CEO Pat Vincent-Collawn. “Maria’s commitment to providing customers with safe, reliable, and resilient clean energy and to bringing new energy solutions forward is unwavering. She has been instrumental in shaping a multi-year strategic roadmap for our members that prioritizes customer affordability, and she continues to play a critical role in helping our industry identify comprehensive national solutions to mitigate risks from wildfires.”
“We also are proud to announce that Calvin Butler was elected EEI Chair for the 2025-2026 cycle,” added Vincent-Collawn. “With demand for electricity rising at the fastest pace in decades, Calvin’s leadership will be essential as EEI’s member companies work to advance our shared policy priorities and to deliver the reliable, secure electricity that powers our nation’s economy.”
“Our industry stands at an exciting crossroad, with new challenges, historic levels of investment, and burgeoning technologies like artificial intelligence that are redefining America’s energy future,” said Butler, who most recently served as an EEI vice chair. “I look forward to working with EEI and its member companies to ensure that we continue to meet the evolving needs and expectations of our customers, while at the same time working to keep their bills as low as possible.”
Calvin Butler is president and CEO of Exelon, the parent company of six local energy companies, including Atlantic City Electric, BGE, ComEd, Delmarva Power, PECO, and Pepco. Together, they serve approximately 10.7 million electric and natural gas customers in New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia.
David Campbell joined Evergy in January 2021 as president and CEO and, in May 2024, became chairman and CEO. Under Campbell’s leadership, Evergy focuses on providing safe, affordable, and reliable service to its 1.7 million electric customers in Kansas and Missouri.
Chris Womack is the chairman, president, and CEO of Southern Company, which serves 9 million electric and natural gas customers and businesses in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia. Under Womack’s leadership, Southern Company and its subsidiaries are leading producers of clean, safe, reliable, and affordable energy, and leading innovators in the energy industry.
