Tom Aridas

Vice President — Local Affairs and Community Relations

Tom Aridas was named vice president — local affairs and community relations for Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas in August 2025.

In this role, Aridas leads government relations with the City of Chicago and the 54 suburban municipalities in the North Shore Gas service area. He also is responsible for overseeing corporate and charitable giving, the companies’ energy efficiency programs, and community relations and partnerships.

Aridas previously served as director — gas regulatory policy and planning, overseeing and managing all regulatory matters for Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas before the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). In that role, he developed, oversaw and directed regulatory policy, planning and strategy for both companies. He has extensive experience in the ICC’s rate review process for public utilities, and in proposing and advocating for resolutions consistent with court decisions, prior regulatory decisions and public policy.

Aridas also served as director — local government affairs, managing relations with all levels of government in the Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas service areas. During this time, he was Peoples Gas’ primary external affairs liaison to the Chicago departments of Transportation and Water Management on the company’s ongoing delivery system upgrades — one of the largest such efforts in the nation by a natural gas utility.

Before joining Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas, Aridas held a variety of positions at the ICC, including chief administrative law judge and as a trial attorney representing the agency’s interests before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Federal Communications Commission. He started his legal career at a small law firm, working on labor and employment cases before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and National Labor Relations Board.

Aridas holds a law degree from Marquette University Law School and B.S. in political science from DePaul University. He has served as chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Public Utilities Division, and currently sits on the advisory board of Illinois Utilities Business Diversity Council.