BOSTON (SHNS) – While her energy affordability legislation remains on ice in the Legislature, Gov. Maura Healey’s administration on Tuesday reshaped the lineup of Department of Public Utilities regulators and gave the new trio clear marching orders: bring more energy into Massachusetts and make it more affordable.
It is the second time in about two and a half years that the Healey administration has tapped two new commissioners and said the shift comes with a renewed focus for the department involved in energy matters, rail safety and more. DPU Chairman James Van Nostrand, whose appointment the Healey administration celebrated in the spring of 2023, is one of the commissioners departing.
When all the moving parts come to rest this fall, Van Nostrand will be replaced by Jeremy McDiarmid, a current leader of the national business association Advanced Energy United who has previous experience working at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, Northeast Clean Energy Council, SunBug Solar, and Environment Northeast (now the Acadia Center). And Cecile Fraser, an energy and utilities industry attorney first appointed to the DPU in 2017 by Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration, will be replaced as a commissioner by Liz Anderson, the current chief of the Energy and Ratepayer Advocacy Division in Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office.
“As the federal government tries to take energy sources off the table and hikes up customer bills, Massachusetts needs to focus on two things: more supply and lower costs,” Healey said in a statement. “We are appointing two leaders with deep expertise in affordability and getting energy infrastructure built to continue to advance these priorities for our residents and businesses.”
Commissioner Staci Rubin, a longtime environmental justice advocate who worked as vice president of environmental justice at the Conservation Law Foundation before she was appointed to the DPU by the Healey administration in March 2023, is staying in place.
Healey and Democrats in the Legislature have passed a string of clean energy laws designed to lift that sector, including offshore wind energy, but President Donald Trump has taken steps to halt offshore wind power and promote fossil fuel-based energy. In the clash between approaches, officials in both camps see energy affordability, independence and reliability as central goals.
The DPU sits right in the middle of a number of issues that the Healey administration hopes to address: it oversees investor-owned electricity, natural gas and water utilities in Massachusetts, is charged with oversight of the safety of natural gas pipelines through the state, and regulates the safety of bus companies, moving companies, transportation network companies, and the MBTA.
Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper said the administration thanks Van Nostrand for his work at DPU and credited him with having “charted a long-term strategy to meet rising demand, promote clean heat, and lower infrastructure costs.” She said Fraser, who worked at DPU before being named a commissioner, “has brought a strong understanding of consumer protection issues and regional markets to the Commission.”
“Jeremy’s career working with energy developers will be crucial to our all-of-the-above approach to increasing energy supply in Massachusetts. Having spent the vast majority of her entire legal career advocating on behalf of utility customers in DPU proceedings, Liz brings a rigorous and practical understanding of affordability and will aggressively pursue savings for customers,” Tepper, who formally made the appointments, said. “Together, alongside Commissioner Rubin, the Commission will be able to deliver on important priorities for residents and businesses.”
Van Nostrand, in a release issued by the administration, pointed to accomplishments including “improving transparency and public engagement at the agency, making clean heat more affordable, scaling back infrastructure costs, and giving customers more choices in how they power their homes.”
McDiarmid called the DPU “key to unlocking more energy to contain costs for customers.” He said he plans to focus “on cutting red tape to get energy infrastructure built, optimizing the grid, and accelerating interconnection, all so residents and businesses have the reliable power they need at an affordable price.” On LinkedIn, McDiarmid said he anticipates that the challenges he will face at the DPU will be “daunting.”
As Healey gives direct orders to the DPU, she has been unable to generate momentum among lawmakers for an affordability bill that her team says could save ratepayers more than $10 billion over the next decade.
The 119-page measure would eliminate or reduce some energy bill charges, impose new consumer protections on the competitive electric supply industry, and open the door to nuclear energy by repealing a 1982 voter law requiring any new facility to secure approval from a statewide ballot initiative.
The Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee heard from Healey and Tepper on the proposal at a June hearing. At that hearing, a host of Democrats told Healey they are routinely “accosted” by constituents for relief from high energy costs.
The bill is not subject to the House’s new 60-day committee reporting deadline since it was filed by the governor, and it has not budged from the joint committee since its hearing on June 26.
While it’s far from passage, Anderson said she is “particularly looking forward to hitting the ground running to implement the Governor’s energy affordability legislation – capping monthly bill increases, getting charges off bills, and rate reform that makes a difference for Massachusetts families.”
“I have spent my career in DPU dockets, fighting for Massachusetts ratepayers. I join the DPU with a renewed commitment to consumer protection and lowering bills,” she said.
The transitions announced Tuesday do not take effect right away and are not simple one-for-one swaps.
McDiarmid will take Fraser’s spot as a commissioner on Sept. 29. For the following few weeks, the DPU will consist of Van Nostrand as chair, Rubin as commissioner and McDiarmid. On Oct. 20, Anderson will assume Van Nostrand’s spot as a commissioner, McDiarmid will become chair and the new roster will be in place.
The DPU’s governing statute stipulates that two of the three commissioners “shall be appointed and may be removed by the secretary of energy and environmental affairs for a term coterminous with that of the governor” and that the third commissioner is appointed by the secretary for a four-year term.
An administration official said Fraser served two four-year terms on the DPU, and has remained in place since the second term ended in April as a successor was sought. The same official declined to provide a copy of Van Nostrand’s resignation, but said he is departing to relocate his family to Philadelphia for other professional obligations.
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