Leuwam Tesfai

Executive Director, California Public Utilities Commission

2023 C3E Government Award Winner

Leuwam Tesfai is the Executive Director at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). In her current role, she leads the CPUC’s statewide workforce to accomplish California’s pathbreaking goals in the areas of energy, telecommunications, safety, rail, water, and passenger transportation. Previously, she served as Deputy Executive Director for Energy and Climate Policy.

Since joining the CPUC in 2011, Tesfai has held various significant roles, including Chief of Staff and Legal Advisor to Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma, Advisor to former Commissioner Liane Randolph, and in the CPUC’s Legal, Energy and Administrative Law Judge Divisions. Throughout her tenure, she has demonstrated leadership across a spectrum of issues, including clean energy procurement, transmission development, energy affordability, climate adaptation, reliability, energy efficiency, transportation electrification, complex energy finance and rate recovery, and distributed energy resources. She has also represented the State of California before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Department of Energy.

In 2021, Tesfai earned recognition from Public Utilities Fortnightly, receiving a Top Innovator Award for her exceptional leadership in shaping groundbreaking microgrid policies. With a background in the private sector, she has contributed to the advancement of renewable energy markets, siting and permitting generation facilities, and commercialization of clean energy technologies.

Tesfai also shares her expertise as a speaker on energy regulations in the international program of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, collaborating with the U.S. Department of State in Africa and South America. She has effectively represented California at the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) on Climate Change.

Her commitment extends to various leadership roles: she serves on the board of the League of Women Voters San Francisco, holds a position on the Executive Committee of the Environmental Law Section of the California Bar, is an Advisory Board Member for the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at Berkeley Law, and is an active member of the American Association of Blacks in Energy.

Her educational background includes completing her studies at Emory University and the University of San Francisco School of Law.