A message from AVANGRID CEO Dennis Arriola to our employees

Dear Team AVANGRID,

Like many of you, I have been watching the disturbing events in Washington, D.C. at the US Capitol over the past day. I’m sad and angry, but not without hope.

My first concern at this time is for our people. We’ve reached out to our colleagues in AVANGRID’s Washington, D.C. office and I’m very thankful to report that they and their families are all safe and accounted for.

A few months ago, on the eve of the Presidential election, I wrote to you about the importance and honor of living in a free and democratic nation. It saddens me when some are not respectful of that privilege. Some people believe that violence and breaking the law is acceptable. It’s not and never will be in our country. Democracy is an imperfect system and continuing to evolve, but it works, and it is what has made the United States the great country it is today. It allows us to engage in free speech and discourse with rich and constructive engagement in our communities and civil society. This is a remarkable and special thing that we should not take for granted.

While yesterday was a sad and tragic day in our country’s history, I’m optimistic that it’s also an inflection point that we can learn from and hopefully will mark the beginning of our healing as a nation. It starts with our elected leaders across the nation, but we all have an important role to play.

I am heartened that here at AVANGRID, we strive to be respectful of each other’s differences. One of our strengths is our diversity – and that includes diversity of political beliefs. Respect and compassion for those around us is a value that we must hold dearly and practice daily. It starts with each of us. We can be better. Today and every day.

Take some time today out of your busy schedule to think about what it means to live in America and what you and we at AVANGRID can do to make an even bigger difference going forward. I truly believe we are honored to live in this great land. We all make choices in our lives – we can be part of the solution and push for constructive, non-violent change, or we can be part of the problem. Please join me in pushing us forward to a brighter day where we can respectfully discuss, debate and celebrate our differences of opinion.

Thank you for your continued commitment to living our values and supporting each other, our customers and communities, especially during turbulent times. Together, we can and will build a better company, a better community, and a better nation.

Stay safe,

Dennis