Avangrid, the Orange-based parent company of United Illuminating, has named a new CEO.
In a statement, the energy services conglomerate said Pedro Azagra Blázquez will succeed current CEO Dennis Arriola, effective May 28. Avangrid said Arriola “has decided to leave the business.”
Azagra currently serves as chief development officer at Iberdrola, S.A., a Spanish multinational utilities company that owns the majority of Avangrid. He has served on Avangrid’s board of directors since 2019, and previously served as a member from 2014 to 2018.
Azagra is also a member of the Avangrid board’s executive committee and special committee, which oversees projects such as the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line. Once completed, that project is expected to channel hydroelectric power from Quebec through Maine into the New England power grid.
“Pedro knows Avangrid and the U.S. market well,” said Chairman Ignacio Galán. “I am very confident that under his leadership, we will continue on the path of performance based on [environmental, social, governance and financial factors] and a focus on being the leading sustainable energy company in the U.S.”
Avangrid, through its Avangrid Renewables segment, is pursuing several offshore wind projects in the Northeast, including Park City Wind, which has an agreement to generate power for the Connecticut energy market. It is expected to be built off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard and managed from a site in Bridgeport.
