MORGANTOWN — WVU professor Jamie Van Nostrand has been appointed to the chair of the Massachusetts Commonwealth Utilities Commission, which oversees the Department of Public Utilities.
DPU oversees investor-owned electric power, natural gas, and water companies in Massachusetts; regulates the safety of bus companies, moving companies and transportation network companies; and oversees the safety of natural gas pipelines.
The commission has three members, appointed by the Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, with approval by the governor. Two are appointed for a term coterminous with the governor and one for a term of four years. One commissioner is designated as chair for a term of two years. Secretary Rebecca L. Tepper appointed Jamie Van Nostrand to the chair.
“I am honored and excited to be joining the Healey-Driscoll Administration at such a pivotal time in the clean energy transition,” Van Nostrand said in the release announcing his appointment. “I look forward to working with Secretary Tepper and the other energy and environmental agencies to meet Governor [Maura] Healey’s clean energy objectives, while maintaining affordable energy and designing clean energy programs that benefit all communities.”
Van Nostrand holds the Charles M. Love, Jr. Endowed Professorship at WVU’s College of Law, is director of WVU’s Center for Energy and Sustainable Development, and is the author of The Coal Trap: How West Virginia Was Left Behind in the Clean Energy Revolution; Cambridge University Press, 2022.
He told The Dominion Post his start date in Boston is May 1 and he will finish up his teaching responsibilities for the spring semester before then.
He said he has asked for an unpaid leave of absence beginning May 1, as the term of a commissioner is four years and his term as chair is two years. There is a chance that he would want to come back to his tenured professor of law position once his appointment expires, and pending possible re-appointment. He is awaiting response from WVU administration.
Law school dean Amelia Rinehart said, “This is an exciting opportunity for Jamie, and we wish him well in his new position. Meanwhile, we are working through the logistics and next steps of the transition for our College of Law community.”
Van Nostrand said on Monday, “It will be quite a different environment promoting clean energy policies in Massachusetts compared to the work I have done in West Virginia over the past 12 years. My advocacy is very much aligned with the objectives of Gov. Healey, in contrast to the resistance I have faced in West Virginia.
“At the same time,” he said, “one consistency is affordability, and promoting regulatory policies that protect ratepayers from unnecessary rate increases. In Massachusetts, I will have the opportunity to actually implement the policies that I have advocated in West Virginia to keep energy prices affordable for consumers.”
Healey also appointed Staci Rubin, vice president of Environmental Justice at the Conservation Law Foundation, to the commission. Rubin previously served in the DPU as senior counsel and hearing officer.
Current Commissioner Cecile Fraser remains as the third member. They are charged with carrying out the directive of creating a “21st Century DPU.”
A Boston Globe article said Healey has regarded the DPU as ineffectual and too cozy with natural gas interests. The two new appointments are part of her overhaul.
Healey, who was previously state attorney general, said in the announcement release, “For the past eight years, our team in the attorney general’s office, including Secretary Tepper and Chief Hoffer, served as the ratepayer advocate by standing up for Massachusetts residents struggling to pay their utility bills. We know how critical it is that the DPU leadership understands that the transition to a clean energy economy is a pocketbook issue and will be thoughtful in how we evolve our grid and economy for the future. I have full faith in Jamie Van Nostrand, Staci Rubin, and Cecile Fraser to uphold those values.”
Tepper said, “With Jamie, Staci, and Cecile at the helm, the next era of the Department of Utilities will be marked by a commitment to transparency, equity, and innovation. Our goal is to build a 21st century DPU rooted in these values. Jamie is a longtime advocate for the clean energy resources and will help lead the Commonwealth’s transition at this pivotal time.”
The commissioners will be encouraged to evaluate structural and cultural changes to advance the following goals:
- Operate as a partner in achieving climate goals, including through facilitating rapid renewable energy growth, building a modern grid, and promoting resiliency.
- Open its doors to the public through modernized communications tools and meaningful community engagement in its proceedings.
- Integrate equity into its decision-making and respond to concerns from environmental justice populations and low-income ratepayers.
- Build agency expertise to ensure DPU independence and meet its mission, which includes prioritizing affordability, consumer protection, emissions reductions, transportation safety, and more.
Several experts commented on Van Nostrand’s appointment.
Karan May, senior campaign representative for the Sierra Club in Central Appalachia, said, “Jamie Van Nostrand has been a strong advocate on behalf of West Virginia ratepayers since coming to the state in 2011. His deep familiarity with the rate-making process enables him to be a frequent and effective critic of the pro-coal policies of West Virginia’s PSC, and a voice for ratepayers in promoting clean energy policies that would result in lower electricity prices. His departure from West Virginia is a huge loss for us, but Massachusetts will be gaining an effective and knowledgeable expert as its chief utility regulator.”
Dale Bryk, director of State & Regional Policy at the Harvard Environmental & Energy Law Program, said, “Jamie Van Nostrand brings unparalleled technical expertise, a pragmatic approach and a deep commitment to equity that will enable him to lead a just and orderly transition to a clean energy economy in Massachusetts. There has never been a more-important time to have strong leadership at the DPU, whose decisions can leverage new federal resources and drive investments that will maximize benefits for all customers.”
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