Bonavia to retire as CEO of Tucson Electric parent UNS

The UNS Energy board named David Hutchens, UNS Energy’s president and chief operating officer, to succeed Bonavia as CEO upon his retirement under a succession plan years in the making, the company said.

The management shuffle comes amid a pending $4.3 billion buyout of UNS Energy by Canada-based utility Fortis Inc.

Bonavia, 62, has led UNS Energy since January 2009, when he became chairman, president and CEO of the company, then known as UniSource Energy Corp.

Among Bonavia’s accomplishments, the company said, were increasingly efficient operations, an emphasis on safety, a renewed focus on customer service, diversification of the company’s power-generating resource mix and rapid expansion of its renewable energy resources.

“I’m proud of our accomplishments over the last five years and utterly confident that Dave and the rest of our talented management team will continue making solid progress toward our long-term goals,” Bonavia said in prepared remarks.

Hutchens was named president of UNS in December 2011. He served as a nuclear submarine officer in the U.S. Navy and worked as an engineer before joining TEP in July 1995.

He advanced to various management positions overseeing wholesale energy trading and marketing and in January 2007, he was named vice president of wholesale energy and UNS Gas, an operating subsidiary. He became vice president of energy efficiency and resource planning in May 2009 and executive vice president in March 2011.

Hutchens will retain his seat on the UNS Energy board and his roles as president and chief operating officer after he succeeds Bonavia as CEO, the company said.

Announced in December, the buyout by Fortis still requires shareholder and state and federal regulatory approvals. A shareholder vote on the deal is planned for late March, and initial hearings on the deal before the Arizona Corporation Commission are set for June.