Melissa Washington, ComEd

In recognition of Women’s History Month, PUF sat down with thirteen women leaders across the energy sector to capture their perspectives at a pivotal moment for our industry.

Demand is rising. Infrastructure investment is accelerating. Utilities, regulators, and innovators are navigating increasing expectations around affordability, reliability, and resilience. In this environment, leadership is not theoretical. It is operational. Decisions made today will shape markets, systems, and communities for decades.

The women featured here represent the breadth of the modern grid. Their roles span utilities, regulatory commissions, federal public power, trade associations, research institutions, consumer advocacy offices, and technology companies. The perspectives are varied, but several themes recur: translating complexity into clarity, balancing competing priorities, preparing the workforce of the future, and keeping customers at the center of the conversation.

These conversations are not a single narrative. They are a collection of viewpoints reflecting the realities of leadership in motion. Together, they offer insight into how this essential industry is being guided forward at a time of significant change.

PUF’s Rachel Bryant: Many leaders say their careers were not as linear as they once imagined. Was that true for you as well?

Melissa Washington: Absolutely. You never know where you are going to end up. My education and background are in finance, and one of the most impactful experiences early in my career was working at Arthur Andersen. That time shaped how I think about leadership and what I call client engagement.

At Arthur Andersen, there was a strong emphasis on developing good leaders. You were taught to be an active listener, take initiative, stay technically sound, and communicate clearly about complex issues.

Those foundational skills can sometimes be overshadowed by subject matter expertise, but I have learned how essential they are. They show up in everything you do.

Later in my career, I came to appreciate those foundations even more. Communication is critical in the regulatory and legislative worlds, but it is just as important for consumers.

We may spend time deep in technical analysis, reading legislation, studying intent, and reviewing tariffs, but everyday customers do not have the time or the need to do all of that. They should not have to work that hard to understand how decisions affect them.

As a leader, that means thinking carefully about who you are communicating with and how they can best receive the information. That lesson has stayed with me.

PUF: What ultimately led you from finance into the energy and utility space?

Melissa Washington: After my time at Arthur Andersen, a lot of people were making decisions about their next steps. I was on the tax side, which taps into a different skill set than traditional accounting. You are constantly reading regulations and applying them to emerging or unique situations.

In many ways, regulatory work functions the same way. You may have rules and legislative intent, but something is always changing, and you have to figure out how to evolve.

I went to Deloitte for a time and was later recruited to Exelon. The timing mattered. I was deciding whether to stay in public accounting and pursue a partner track, but the opportunity intrigued me because it offered the chance to go deeper. As a consultant, you often develop a strategy and then hand it off. I wanted to see execution and live with the outcomes of my recommendations.

That curiosity led me to say yes to a breakfast meeting with the chief tax officer at ComEd. We talked about what mattered to me. I wanted to be in a role that was essential to the community and where I could continue learning and growing. Energy fit that perfectly. It touches everyone.

I did not come in with a deep background in utilities or regulation. I had worked with banking and manufacturing clients, and I was still very much a novice in the energy space. I learned quickly.

What stood out to me was the relationship among public utilities, regulators, government, and consumers. Regulation is a form of consumer protection, but it is also about alignment. All stakeholders are clients in my mind, and the challenge is serving those needs while positioning the utility to do the same.

Looking back, my entry into the industry came at exactly the moment I was ready to take a risk. I have learned the power of saying yes and the importance of moving beyond what feels comfortable in order to grow.

PUF: When you think about leadership today, what early lessons continue to shape how you approach your role?

Melissa Washington: One lesson that has stayed with me is the importance of alignment. I believe strongly in setting a clear direction for people, and one way I do that is by choosing a word of the year. I started this practice around 2020, when there was so much happening both inside and outside the organization.

The first word I chose was “focus.” We needed to keep an eye on what we had to execute and not get distracted by things we could not control.

More recently, the word has been “explore.” Given the pace of change we are experiencing, I want people to stay curious and open. I encourage them to ask, “How might we?” How might we address challenges, adapt to a changing environment, or better serve customers?

That framing helps people feel empowered. It makes expectations clear and invites them to be part of the solution. In a regulatory environment where approvals are required and outcomes are not always what you hope for, it is important that people do not feel discouraged. When something does not work, we focus on learning from it and adjusting, rather than treating it as a failure.

PUF: The energy industry is changing quickly, with a great deal of uncertainty. What is keeping you up at night right now?

Melissa Washington: What keeps me up at night is the pace of change. Things are evolving every day, and the challenges that come with that pace are significant. We are often dealing with issues we have never solved before, and it is easy for that ambiguity to lead to paralysis.

My focus is on making sure we continue moving forward while bringing people along at the same time. That means helping stakeholders understand that we are trying to solve the same problems they are trying to solve. There is nothing more rewarding than identifying a gap or challenge, collaborating on a solution, and then seeing that solution implemented in a way that works.

I also think a lot about collaboration. Conflict is natural, especially in a regulated industry, but it does not have to be adversarial. Progress happens when you find points of intersection and alignment. Reliability, safety, and affordability are shared goals, and building trust around those principles is essential.

PUF: You often talk about the real-world impact of this work. How do you keep that perspective front and center?

Melissa Washington: I think about the end user all the time. We do not just look at wires and poles. We think about what people are trying to do in their lives. Someone might be having a baby or undergoing surgery. Hospitals, fire departments, schools, and businesses all depend on reliable service.

One experience that stayed with me was a campaign we worked on that showed how energy touches every part of daily life. The message was simple: People count on us, and we have to show up. That framing resonated because it centered on the human impact, not the infrastructure.

On a personal level, I also use what I jokingly call my mother’s test. I grew up with a single mother, and I often ask myself how she would react to a message or advertisement. What action would she think we were asking her to take? If that is not clear, then we have more work to do.

My mother once told me that while she may not always understand the details of energy efficiency programs, she notices that she does not think about outages the way she used to. That was one of the best compliments I could receive. It showed the work was making a difference in a way that truly mattered.

PUF: Looking back on your career, did you ever imagine you would end up where you are today?

Melissa Washington: I never had a perfectly mapped plan, but I stayed open to learning, took opportunities when they came, and tried to approach every role with intention. That mindset is what ultimately brought me here.

Women’s History Month articles at fortnightly.com

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• Michele O'Connell, Orange and Rockland Utilities CEO
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• Melissa Washington, ComEd Senior Vice President
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