Kevin Akers

Atmos delivers natural gas to over 3 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers across eight states — Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Kansas, and Colorado. The company is distinct in the utility industry for its exclusive focus on natural gas distribution (no electric operations). Akers leads a massive infrastructure modernization program, investing billions annually to replace aging steel and cast-iron pipelines with modern polyethylene piping. This pipeline replacement spending is the primary driver of Atmos's rate base growth and earnings trajectory. The company benefits from constructive regulatory relationships across its service territories, with multiple states providing mechanisms for timely cost recovery of safety-related infrastructure investment. His key decisions involve capital investment pace, regulatory strategy across eight jurisdictions, managing the long-term narrative around natural gas in a decarbonizing energy landscape, and balancing infrastructure investment with customer rate impacts.