Utility Titan, Philanthropist And History Lover Who Has Died At Age 77

John Rowe, the electric utility leader and innovator, who has died at the age of 77, loved history. He loved it so much that he had an Egyptian sarcophagus on display in his office. Not, mind you, a copy, but the real thing. The Egyptian government was always trying to get it back, but Rowe told me that he couldn’t bring himself to part with it.

That antique in his office wasn’t so much an eccentricity as it was emblematic of a man whose interests ranged across history, from the time of the Egyptian pharaohs to modern American presidents. Rowe and his interests were sweeping, as was his trajectory across the electric utility industry firmament.

Although Rowe rose to the very pinnacle of success in the electric utility business as chairman and CEO of the giant Chicago-based ExelonEXC
, he was, in many ways, antithetical to the role. He liked to describe himself in conversation as “an industrialist,” a word that paints mental pictures of stern railroad tycoons, tailored from their spats to their heavily starched collars, exuding intimidation. Looking at Rowe, you would be more likely to think of Winnie the Pooh, a pudgy, cuddly bear.

There was nothing intimidating about him. Effective, yes; intimidating, no.

That wasn’t Rowe. Intimidation wasn’t an arrow in his executive quiver. Instead, it was loaded with ideas, passion, innovations, and real care for those who were affected by his decisions, from Joe and Jill ratepayer to his own staff. He held the top jobs at three utilities: Central Maine Power, New England Electric, and Exelon.

Major Philanthropist

After retirement, Rowe taught history in a charter school that he and his wife Jeanne founded in a troubled Chicago neighborhood. He told me it was one of the toughest things he had ever done. He found the kids bright and eager, but many would be attacked on their way home for carrying books and wanting to learn.

Tom Kuhn, president of the Edison Electric Institute, knew Rowe over many years, including his time as chairman of EEI, said, “John and Jeanne were prolific and dedicated philanthropists and civic leaders. Among their many philanthropic endeavors, the Rowes founded numerous professorships at institutions of higher learning, as well as the Rowe Elementary-Middle School, and they cofounded the Rowe-Clark Math and Science Academy.”

Rowe always struck me as a benign cherub, sent from wherever cherubs hole up, to fix things.

From the tributes which poured in, others also saw the larger man — the man who transcended the C-suite. Sheila Hollis, acting executive director of the U.S. Energy Association, said, “He was an extraordinary executive – wise, creative and kind.”

I saw this up close when deregulation burst upon the utility industry, and Rowe decided it would be good for the ratepayers and shareholders of New England Electric, where he was chairman and CEO, to deregulate.

To deregulate was to sail through unchartered waters. He took the helm and kept his course. It led to his being chosen to head Exelon, where he became the first chairman and CEO when it was formed in 2000.

During the deregulation revolution, we talked on the phone, but sometimes he asked me to come up to Boston from Washington. We would have lunch and talk as much about the British or Spanish empires as the issue of deregulation. Rowe was always so far ahead of me that I had nothing to tell him anyway.

Longtime Nuclear Advocate

Being ahead was typical of Rowe. He was an ardent advocate of nuclear power; and when he went to Exelon, he became the de facto proprietor of the largest U.S. nuclear fleet, totaling 19 reactors.

It was a shock when, a few years later, Rowe announced that Exelon wouldn’t build new nuclear and was switching to natural gas because it was what the economics dictated, and he couldn’t allow his personal preference to overrule what was best for the utility’s customers and shareholders.

To make such a turn must have been very hard for Rowe who had put a great deal of effort into promoting nuclear power, and was a believer in it – until the market went against it. He had even served as chairman of the Nuclear Energy Institute.

But it was typical of Rowe. Like a good pilot, he believed his instruments; and when they told him a new course was needed, he made the correction.

A battle that Rowe didn’t win was the one for a carbon tax. He spent time and money after his retirement campaigning for a carbon tax, still devoutly opposed in Congress. He wanted a package that taxed carbon but also retired onerous regulations.

I remember one especially wonderful dinner with Rowe in Chicago. He sent his limo for me — and it was indicative of how little John cared about appearances. The limo’s ceiling fabric was coming down, and the whole vehicle looked a little shabby. The meal was classic and the conversation cutting-edge as Rowe’s enthusiasms bubbled. We started with single malt whisky and moved to fine wine. A fine mind and fine wine were what you got when you dined with Rowe.

Clinton Vince, chair of the U.S. energy practice at Dentons, said, “He was a great innovator and a thoroughly decent man.”

I regret that John Rowe’s wise counsel in everything, from the future of electricity to the best way to help the kids of Chicago, won’t be heard again. I regret that new audiences won’t hear about the achievements of ancient peoples, told with dancing wit. And I very much regret I will never dine again with that wonderful man, John Rowe, survived by his wife and son William, a lawyer.