The Board of Commissioners of Connecticut public power utility Norwich Public Utilities recently named Jeff Brining as the 14th General Manager of the four-service utility that has been operating since 1904.
Chris LaRose, who has served as General Manager of NPU since 2019, is retiring at the end of the year.
“The NPU Board has long been impressed with Jeff’s leadership abilities and technical expertise; he is just the right person to lead our organization during a time of transformational investment in our infrastructure,” said Ashon Avent, Chairman of the Board for NPU. “His deep understanding of our operations and our community will be an asset to NPU in the years ahead.”
Brining joined NPU in 2004 as a Utility Engineer, where he managed several significant projects and developed and implemented NPU’s energy efficiency and renewable energy programs.
He was promoted to Division Manager in 2010 where he managed NPU’s very successful natural gas expansion program that was funded through three separate bond authorizations overwhelmingly approved by the voters in Norwich.
Since 2024, Brining has served as NPU’s Assistant General Manager, overseeing all divisions of the utility, including Operations, Information Technology (IT), Finance, and Customer Service. He was the NPU lead in negotiating numerous economic development agreements and energy supply contracts.
“I am honored to assume the role of General Manager for NPU, which is an essential part of Norwich and the region in so many ways,” said Brining. “As General Manager, my highest priorities will be to build on our tradition of providing the greatest value for our customers and community through reliability, competitive rates, exceptional customers service, growth, and community involvement.”
NPU is in the midst of investing hundreds of millions of dollars into its infrastructure, including $20.9 million to modernize its natural gas system, a $200 million upgrade to its wastewater treatment plant, more than $13 million into a range of water projects, and up to $150 million in projects to modernize and strengthen its electrical system over the next ten years.
