Tension with utility chiefs marked Dan Brouillette’s short stint atop EEI

By Zack Colman, Catherine Morehouse | 10/31/2024 06:13 AM EDT

The former Trump Energy secretary was said to have bristled at dealing with the realities of leading a large trade association.

Dan Brouillette speaks to reporters during a trip to Japan.

Dan Brouillette is departing his role as the head of the powerful utility lobby group less than a year after the former Trump administration Energy secretary took the job. Mari Yamaguchi/AP

Dan Brouillette’s tenure at the helm of the powerful Edison Electric Institute came to an abrupt end because the former Trump Energy secretary created internal discord at the utility lobby group and left top company executives dissatisfied, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

Brouillette resigned as CEO on Monday after nearly 10 months in the role as acrimony spread among people in the investor-owned utility sector over his leadership, according to six people who were granted anonymity to speak about sensitive issues. Those people said Brouillette never settled into his role, failed to hire key staff and struggled to coordinate with the group’s member companies, which include the biggest power producers in the nation.

Brouillette replaced longtime EEI leader Tom Kuhn as the group was adopting a more adversarial stance against regulations promulgated by the Biden administration to fight climate change.

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His resignation just a week ahead of the U.S. election comes at a “puzzling” time, said Larry Gasteiger, executive director of transmission trade group WIRES, whose membership also includes many EEI companies.

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