Avangrid Inc. has named Elin Swanson Katz, Connecticut’s former Consumer Counsel and top utility ratepayer advocate, as its new vice president of energy policy.
The Orange-based company owns United Illuminating, Connecticut’s second-largest electric distribution company, along with two Connecticut natural gas utilities — Southern Connecticut Gas and Connecticut Natural Gas.
In her new role, Katz will lead energy policy strategy across Avangrid’s electric and gas utilities and power generation businesses nationwide.
Katz served as Connecticut’s Consumer Counsel from 2011 to 2019, twice appointed by Gov. Dannel Malloy to lead the independent agency that represents utility customers before the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. In that role, she was an outspoken critic of competitive electric suppliers and utilities alike.
In 2019, she hailed PURA’s then-record $1.5 million fine against Direct Energy for misleading sales and marketing practices as sending an “incontrovertible message” to suppliers about compliance with state law, and described the company’s attitude as “consistently unrepentant.”
She left the consumer counsel post that July.
She then served as the founding director of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Office of Public Participation, created by Congress to expand the role of consumers in federal energy proceedings, and later as a consumer protection expert at the U.S. Department of Energy.
Most recently, she founded Blue Swan Energy Strategies LLC, advising utilities and policymakers on regulatory strategy and energy affordability.
In April, Blue Swan completed a consumer research report for National Grid — an Avangrid competitor in parts of New England and New York — that documented deep frustration among Massachusetts electricity customers over rising bills, opaque billing structures and a perceived lack of control over charges unrelated to their own usage. Katz authored the report.
The hire comes as electricity costs have emerged as a defining issue in Connecticut’s 2026 gubernatorial race, with candidates competing on promises to reduce rates.
Avangrid Deputy CEO Kim Harriman said in a statement that Katz brings “a depth of experience in energy policy, consumer protection, and utility regulation” that will help ensure the company’s approach “remains grounded in affordability, reliability, and strong stakeholder engagement.”
Katz said in a statement that she looks forward to advancing “thoughtful policies that balance affordability, reliability, and the needs of the future.”
Before becoming the state’s consumer counsel, Katz practiced at law firms in Washington, D.C., Boston and Hartford. She also served as assistant counsel at the state Department of Environmental Protection, taught at Trinity College and served on the West Hartford Board of Education from 2009 to 2013.
Avangrid, a subsidiary of Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, has approximately $50 billion in assets and serves more than 3.4 million customers in New York and New England.
Correction: This article has been corrected to reflect the names of the natural gas companies owned by Avangrid. Yankee Gas is owned by Eversource.
