Calvin Butler

Calvin Butler
Nationality	American
Occupation	Corporate executive
Title	President and Chief Executive Officer, Exelon Corporation; Chair, Edison Electric Institute Board of Directors
Employer	Exelon Corporation
Known for	President and CEO of Exelon Corporation

Calvin Butler is an American corporate executive who serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Exelon Corporation, the largest utility company in the United States by customer count, serving approximately 10.7 million electric and gas customers across six states and the District of Columbia. In June 2025, Butler was elected Chair of the Board of Directors of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the trade association representing all investor-owned electric companies in the United States. Based in Chicago, Butler has emerged as a prominent voice in national energy policy discussions, particularly regarding the challenges of meeting surging electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence and data center expansion while maintaining grid reliability and customer affordability. His leadership of Exelon places him at the center of debates over grid modernization, clean energy transition, and the future of the American electric utility industry.

Career

Leadership at Exelon

Calvin Butler serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Exelon Corporation, leading the nation's largest utility company by customer count. Exelon, headquartered in Chicago, serves approximately 10.7 million electric and gas customers through its subsidiary utilities operating across six states and the District of Columbia. Under Butler's leadership, the company has focused on grid modernization, reliability investments, and adapting its infrastructure to meet rapidly changing demand patterns in the energy sector.

Edison Electric Institute Chairmanship

On June 3, 2025, Butler was elected Chair of the Board of Directors of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the leading trade association for all investor-owned electric companies in the United States. The EEI represents a significant portion of the U.S. electric power industry, and the chairmanship is considered one of the most prominent leadership positions in the American utility sector. David Campbell and Chris Womack were elected as Vice Chairs of the EEI Board alongside Butler's election as Chair. In this role, Butler has served as both an industry spokesperson and a liaison between the utility sector and policymakers on issues of national energy policy.

Grid Modernization and Energy Demand

A central theme of Butler's tenure as Exelon CEO has been the challenge of adapting the nation's electric grid to unprecedented levels of demand growth, driven in significant part by the expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure and data centers. In a November 2025 profile published by The New York Times, Butler was described as working to "keep the lights on" as the chief executive of one of the nation's largest utility companies amid rising electricity consumption driven by AI-related infrastructure.

Butler has been outspoken about the need for proactive investment in grid infrastructure. In a December 2025 interview with The Wall Street Journal, he discussed how utilities are accelerating grid modernization and investing in reliability to keep pace with surging electricity demand from AI and data centers. He has framed the issue in terms of both opportunity and urgency, emphasizing that the utility industry must adapt its planning, procurement, and infrastructure investment strategies to a new demand environment that differs fundamentally from the relatively flat demand growth that characterized the previous two decades.

Speaking at Fortune's Brainstorm AI conference in late 2025, Butler used a vivid metaphor to describe the state of the U.S. electric grid, stating that America's "check engine light" is on and warning that "no one's going to pay attention until it breaks down." He stated directly, "We are telling policy makers the warning lights are on," underscoring his view that the scale and pace of demand growth required immediate policy attention and investment.

In a separate December 2025 article in Fortune, Butler elaborated on the need for more generation capacity, including renewables, and greater system efficiencies to prevent grid breakdowns amid the AI-driven demand surge. He characterized the situation as one requiring a comprehensive approach encompassing new generation, transmission upgrades, distribution system modernization, and regulatory reform.

Clean Energy and Customer Affordability

Butler has also addressed the intersection of clean energy transition and customer affordability, a topic he discussed in an August 2025 appearance on the T&D World Live Podcast. In that interview, he spoke about the challenges and opportunities facing the utility industry as it navigates the dual imperatives of decarbonization and maintaining affordable service for customers. Butler has consistently sought to position Exelon's approach as one that balances infrastructure investment with attention to the impact of rising utility costs on residential and commercial customers.

In his interview with LEADERS Magazine in 2025, Butler discussed his vision for Exelon and the broader utility sector, touching on the company's role as a transmission and distribution utility and the strategic priorities he has set for the organization. He has emphasized that Exelon's focus as a pure-play regulated utility — following the company's earlier separation from its generation business — positions it to invest directly in the infrastructure that delivers power to customers.

Policy Advocacy

In his dual role as Exelon CEO and EEI Chair, Butler has engaged extensively with policymakers and regulators on energy policy issues. In a July 2025 interview with POLITICO Pro, Butler discussed his perspective on the regulatory and policy environment facing the electric utility industry, expressing confidence in his understanding of the challenges ahead and the industry's capacity to meet them. He has advocated for policy frameworks that support accelerated investment in grid infrastructure, streamlined permitting processes for new energy projects, and collaboration between the public and private sectors to address the energy demands of the digital economy.

Butler's policy advocacy has centered on the argument that the United States faces a critical period for energy infrastructure investment. He has warned policymakers that failure to act on grid modernization and capacity expansion could result in reliability challenges, higher costs for consumers, and a competitive disadvantage for the country in attracting technology investment. His messaging has been directed at both federal and state-level decision-makers, reflecting the multi-jurisdictional regulatory environment in which Exelon operates.

Public Profile and Industry Engagement

Butler has maintained a visible public profile as a utility industry leader, participating in major business and technology conferences and engaging with national media outlets. His appearances at events such as Fortune's Brainstorm AI conference reflect the growing intersection between the technology and energy sectors, as the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure has created new demands on electric utilities.

In The New York Times, Butler's role was framed in the context of the broader national conversation about electricity costs and the impact of data center proliferation on utility rates for ordinary consumers. The article noted that while AI is a primary driver of rising electricity demand, it is not the sole factor, and that utility executives like Butler are navigating a complex landscape of demand growth, infrastructure constraints, and regulatory expectations.

Butler's interviews and public statements have appeared across a range of prominent outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, The New York Times, POLITICO Pro, LEADERS Magazine, and industry-specific publications such as T&D World. This media presence has positioned him as one of the most visible utility executives in the United States during a period of significant transformation in the energy industry.

Recognition

In June 2025, Butler's election as Chair of the Edison Electric Institute Board of Directors represented one of the most significant industry recognitions of his career, placing him at the head of the principal trade organization for investor-owned electric companies in the United States. The EEI chairmanship is a role that has historically been held by the CEOs of the nation's largest and most prominent utility companies, and Butler's election reflected his standing within the industry.

Butler has been featured in interviews by LEADERS Magazine, a publication that profiles senior executives across industries, where his leadership of Exelon and his vision for the utility sector were the subject of an in-depth profile in 2025. His selection as a speaker at Fortune's Brainstorm AI conference — an event focused on the intersection of artificial intelligence and business strategy — further indicated his recognition as a key figure in the national conversation about energy and technology.

Legacy

As of the mid-2020s, Butler's legacy is closely tied to the strategic challenges facing the American electric utility industry during a period of transformative change. His leadership of Exelon, the nation's largest utility by customer count, during a time of unprecedented demand growth driven by AI and data center expansion, has placed him at the center of critical decisions about the future of the U.S. electric grid.

Butler's repeated public warnings about the state of the nation's energy infrastructure — including his characterization of America's "check engine light" being on — have contributed to a broader public and policy conversation about the need for accelerated grid investment. His advocacy for a balanced approach that encompasses reliability, affordability, and clean energy transition reflects the complex trade-offs that utility executives and policymakers must navigate as the country's energy needs evolve.

As both Exelon CEO and EEI Chair, Butler occupies a position of significant influence over the direction of the American electric utility industry. His tenure at the helm of these organizations during a critical period for energy infrastructure investment is likely to shape the trajectory of grid modernization and energy policy for years to come.