Xcel Energy names Rodriguez as president for Texas-New Mexico
AMARILLO, Texas (May 16, 2022) – Adrian Rodriguez, senior vice president of Regulatory and Strategy at Puget Sound Energy in Washington and former interim CEO and general counsel at El Paso Electric Co., is returning to his home state of Texas to assume the role of president, Xcel Energy – Southwest effective June 1.
Rodriguez is succeeding David Hudson, who is retiring after 38 years of service to the company. He joins a leadership team tasked with transforming the grid to meet evolving energy needs while maintaining the company’s commitment to reliability, affordability and community engagement.
“We’re proud to serve our New Mexico and Texas customers and communities as they continue to grow and thrive. Adrian’s expertise in regulatory, legislative and environmental matters and his dedication to community and economic development will enable us to further David’s legacy of achievement in our Southwest region,” said Bob Frenzel, chairman, president and CEO of Xcel Energy. “This is a time of rapid change as we move closer to our clean energy and customer goals, and Adrian is ideally suited to lead this effort.” At Puget Sound, Rodriguez has overseen clean energy strategy, regulatory and government affairs, resource planning, new product development, and energy efficiency. As general counsel at El Paso Electric, Rodriguez was responsible for the legal, corporate governance, regulatory, rates, and governmental affairs functions working with regulators at the federal level and within Texas and New Mexico. Before his work at El Paso Electric, Rodriguez was an attorney in the Dallas office of Houston-based Vinson & Elkins LLP, where he practiced law in the energy regulation practice group and complex commercial litigation practice group. He also served
as a law clerk to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio.
“Adrian has a broad view of the energy industry and the creation of sound energy policy that ultimately benefits every person in every walk of life,” said Brett Carter, Xcel Energy group president, utilities and chief customer officer. “We are rapidly advancing our customer-focused energy solutions and making proactive changes that will have long-lasting implications for the sustainability of our communities.” Rodriguez is a native of El Paso.
He received his Bachelor of Arts degree with highest honors in economics and government from the University of Texas at Austin where he was a state of Texas recipient of the 1999 Truman Scholarship. He earned a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University where he was the editor-in-chief of the Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy, and a juris doctorate from Columbia University School of Law where he was a managing editor of the Columbia Law Review.
In El Paso, Rodriguez served as a member of the Boy Scouts of America Yucca Council executive board and on the board of the Paso del Norte Health Foundation. Additionally, he has served on the Council for Regional Economic Expansion & Educational Development, Borderplex Alliance, El Paso Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Tech University Hunt School of Nursing advisory board and he has been a member of the Texas Business Leadership Council.
Hudson, who had announced his retirement for April 1, has extended his service to July 1 to facilitate the transition of leadership.
Hudson became president of Xcel Energy’s Southwest region in December 2013 and led the expansion of the region’s power grid that quadrupled power import/export capabilities, boosted job-creation and electrified large areas of newly developed oil and gas fields in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas. Hudson also expanded the region’s low-cost clean energy portfolio by 1,000 megawatts with the addition of the Hale and Sagamore wind energy facilities in 2019 and 2020.
“We’re grateful for David’s willingness to extend his service a little longer to make this a seamless transition,” Frenzel said.
About Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) provides the energy that powers millions of homes and businesses across eight Western and Midwestern states. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company is an industry leader in responsibly reducing carbon emissions and producing and delivering clean energy solutions from a variety of renewable sources at competitive prices. For more information, visit xcelenergy.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.