Connie Corona has been promoted to executive director of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT). She was unanimously voted to the position during the agency’s May 23 meeting. As one of her first official duties, Corona promoted Barksdale English to replace her as deputy executive director.
Corona has worked at PUCT for 12 years, originally joining in 1997 as a policy analyst before leaving to pursue private market opportunities. She returned to PUCT in 2017 as division director for competitive markets. She became deputy executive director in December 2020.
Corona has served as interim executive director since Feb. 1, 2024. She took over the role from Thomas Gleeson after he stepped down to be chair of PUCT. As permanent executive director, Corona will oversee and manage the agency’s operations, including regulation of Texas utilities, legislation, compliance and customer complaints.
“The past four months have been exceptionally busy for the PUCT with development and implementation of the Texas Energy Fund, progress on determining a reliability standard, and other important projects,” PUCT Chairman Thomas Gleeson said. “[Connie] has led staff through this work with confidence and a clear vision. [She] is well respected across the industry, knows our staff better than anyone, and is unquestionably the right person for the job.”
English, who most recently served as chief program officer, started working with PUCT as chief of staff to a former commissioner in 2018. He would later be promoted to director of the Division of Compliance and Enforcement.
PUCT was founded in 1975 to regulate the state’s electric telecommunication and water and sewer utilities. In addition, the agency oversees respective legislation and provides assistance to customers.
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