Energy Policy and Regulatory Leader Joins PowerOptions Board
Former DTE Chair and National Grid Leader Brings Expertise
Boston, September 27, 2011 — Janet Gail Besser, a longtime energy policy and regulatory expert who formerly chaired the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy, will join PowerOptions as a new member of its Board of Directors.
PowerOptions Board Chairwoman Christine C. Schuster, president of Emerson Hospital, hailed the selection of Besser as a perfect fit for the state’s premiere energy-buying consortium for nonprofit institutions.
“Janet will be a tremendous addition to our board and will be a great advocate for PowerOptions’ primary focus – the 500 nonprofits we serve throughout Massachusetts,” Schuster said. “Our board is composed of a diverse group of dynamic leaders, each of whom cares deeply about helping nonprofits secure the best terms and prices for their important energy purchases. Janet will only add to that depth.”
Besser, who recently left a senior position at National Grid after seven years of service, said she was excited about her new role on the PowerOptions board.
“I have always been impressed by the mission of PowerOptions and the service it provides to nonprofits from large hospitals and universities to state entities and municipalities down to small, community-based nonprofits,” Besser said. “The next several years are going to be pivotal and challenging ones in the energy market. PowerOptions is uniquely situated to turn those challenges into opportunities for its members.”
Schuster and PowerOptions President and CEO Cynthia A. Arcate said the board will continue to seek potential candidates to fill additional board slots.
At National Grid, Besser served in several capacities as a Vice President, most recently as Vice President of Regulatory Strategy and Policy. She led development of company regulatory strategy, including coordinating company positions across multiple state and federal jurisdictions to ensure consistency, advance business objectives and enhance company influence on national, regional and state energy policy and regulation.
Prior to joining National Grid, Besser worked as an energy policy and regulatory consultant for the Analysis Group and Lexecon, Inc.
For 15 years prior to that, Besser worked in various senior capacities in public regulatory and policy roles in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C., most notably as Chair of the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy (now the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities.)
About PowerOptions®
The award-winning PowerOptions® is among the largest electricity and natural gas purchasing consortiums in Massachusetts, with $160 - 200 million of annual energy commodity purchases and a combined demand of approximately 200 megawatts of electricity and 11 million dekatherms of natural gas usage. Any nonprofit or public institution in Massachusetts may become a member and participate in this collective purchasing effort. For more information, visit www.poweroptions.org.
CONTACT: Liam Sullivan
(617) 428-4250
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