ComEd Appoints Melissa Washington as SVP of Governmental, Regulatory and External Affairs
Washington, a 20+ veteran of Exelon, replaces Louie Binswanger, who retires at the end of the year. Organizational changes to position ComEd for success amid the clean energy transition.
ComEd today announced Melissa Y. Washington, with more than two decades of experience in the industry and at Exelon, will be appointed to the role of senior vice president of Governmental, Regulatory and External Affairs (GREA) effective September 1, 2025. This key appointment will position ComEd to continue advancing work alongside key stakeholders, and to advocate for policies that will benefit northern Illinois customers and communities in the clean energy transition.
In this role, Washington will set the company's policy, legislative and regulatory strategies. She will also oversee the company's economic and workforce development functions, as well as corporate community impact and charitable giving for ComEd.
"Melissa Washington is a highly-respected and transformational leader with a track record for driving innovation in our customer operations while advancing critical stakeholder and policy work – always keeping the people, businesses and communities we serve front of mind," said ComEd President and CEO Gil Quiniones. "With our industry facing dramatic changes and customer demands evolving rapidly, I am confident that Melissa's deep industry experience and strong relationships make her the right person to advance the important work we must do to continue supporting the clean energy transition in our region."
Washington first joined Exelon in 2003, with executive-level roles held in investor relations, corporate affairs, governmental affairs, regulatory, large customer and workforce and economic development. Washington joined ComEd in 2016 and currently serves as senior vice president of Customer Operations and Strategic Initiatives, where she has led the company in reshaping its customer experience, creating new customer tools to provide energy billing relief and to boost customer participation in clean energy technology and energy management solutions, including growing the impact of ComEd's industry-leading energy efficiency programs.
Washington is active in service to her community, serving in leadership roles with several local boards including the Metropolitan Planning Council, the Civic Consulting Alliance, the Chicago Children's Advocacy Center board, and the Leadership Greater Chicago board. She is also a member of several professional groups, including serving as board secretary of Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA), a member of the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE), and the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies (AEIC). She earned her bachelor's degree in finance from Lewis University and her MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management.
"This is an exciting time to join the GREA team as we continue to bring clean energy solutions to communities in northern Illinois," said Washington. "I look forward to the opportunity to meet with our stakeholders to better understand the needs of their constituents as we advance plans for a clean and reliable energy grid."
Washington, who has served in a leadership capacity in various roles with ComEd since 2003, steps into the SVP of GREA role most recently held by Louie Binswanger, who will transition to serving as senior advisor to the CEO before retiring at the end of the year.
"I want to thank Louie Binswanger for his leadership and many contributions, most notably his work leading the team to achieve regulatory approvals that will help the grid prepare to deliver safe, reliable and clean power for years to come while keeping customer bills as low as possible," said Quiniones.
Binswanger, who joined ComEd in 2022, is credited with leading policy and regulatory strategies to secure approval ComEd's first ever Multi-Year Grid plan, which received regulatory approvals from the ICC in 2024, and setting the stage for key investments through 2027 that will uphold reliability and resiliency in the face of more severe weather and adapt to meet clean energy goals. The plan aligns with the state's Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), a 2021 law which seeks to expand renewable energy access, decarbonize communities and boost the clean energy workforce. Binswanger will stay on in an advisory role to the CEO through the end of the year.
ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ:EXC), a Fortune 200 energy company serving more than 10.5 million electricity and natural gas customers – the largest number of customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state's population. For more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.
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