BOSTON — The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) has recruited two veteran New England policy makers to fill newly created positions aimed at improving regional and federal energy collaboration.
EEA Secretary Rebecca Tepper last week said the office hired Jason Marshall to be deputy secretary and special counsel for federal and regional energy affairs and Mary Louise “Weezie” Nuara to be assistant secretary.
The positions are a first within the agency to be specifically tasked with promoting regional cooperation on energy issues.
The two will serve as Massachusetts’ “emissary to promote clean energy development and procurement, build regional transmission, support grid reliability and affordability, enhance energy markets and pursue federal support,” the office said in a statement.
Marshall is a long-time employee of the New England States Committee on Electricity (NESCOE), which represents the six New England states at NEPOOL and in front of grid operator ISO-NE and other bodies. He most recently served as deputy executive director and general counsel.
Nuara is Dominion Energy’s state policy director for New England and previously worked at ISO-NE as a senior external affairs representative.
“The Healey-Driscoll Administration is going to be nimble and cooperative to achieve our clean energy goals, and Jason and Weezie will be key to these efforts,” Tepper said in a statement.
Among the new officials’ priorities will be representing Massachusetts in complicated discussions over regional transmission planning.
“We’re committed to looking at transmission on a regional level, particularly for offshore wind,” Tepper said at a renewable energy conference in Boston Thursday.
The New England states have submitted concept papers to the U.S. Department of Energy as the first step in asking for federal funding for transmission projects that would bring more electricity from Canada and offshore wind into the region.
It’s a time of huge opportunity with all the federal funding floating around.
“There are so many grants that we can’t even ask for them all,” Tepper said Thursday.
The new hires were applauded from several corners of the energy sector in New England.
“The New England states are powered by one grid, and it’s complicated. Jason is equipped to cover the full court on day one, from a deep understanding of our markets and transmission system, to expertise on federal rules and process, to working relationships with officials across New England,” NESCOE Executive Director Heather Hunt said in a statement. “Weezie brings front row experience from the vantage point of our regional grid operator and a power generator. Both Jason and Weezie are widely known to lead with respect and collaboration.”
