Governor Mills Announces Proposal to Elevate Governor's Energy Office to Cabinet-level Position

Recognizing the critical need to ensure affordable, reliable energy for all Maine people and businesses, Governor Mills proposes elevating the Governor's Energy Office to a cabinet-level department in upcoming budget proposal

Governor Janet Mills today announced that she will propose elevating the Governor's Energy Office (GEO) to a cabinet-level department as part of her upcoming biennial budget proposal.

Establishing the Maine Department of Energy

Resources outside of the Governor's Office, where GEO currently resides, would allow for a more integrated, comprehensive, and consistent approach to the planning and management of Maine's energy system, helping Maine more effectively prioritize affordable and reliable energy for all Maine people and businesses. It is a budget neutral initiative during a tight budget cycle.

Maine is one of only a handful of states in the U.S. that have an energy office located within the Governor's office and is the only one in the northeast. More than 40 states have energy offices with cabinet-level leadership. In recent years, the Maine Legislature has expanded GEO's responsibilities, and the office has worked to secure more than $200 million in federal funding to support grid resilience and innovation, energy efficiency, and workforce development, among other key investments for Maine. Elevating GEO to a cabinet-level position would make the office commensurate with these added responsibilities.

"Energy plays an essential role in our daily lives and significantly impacts our economy, but it is not represented as a cabinet-level office here in Maine like it is in nearly every other state," said Governor Janet Mills. "Maine faces many energy-related challenges, including high costs, price volatility, aging and inefficient infrastructure, increasingly severe weather, and an over-reliance on expensive, imported fossil fuels. By transitioning the Energy Office to a Department, we can strengthen our ability to bring down the cost of energy, ensure that our energy infrastructure is strong and reliable for all Maine people, and have a greater say in our energy future."

This is not the first time a proposal to elevate the Energy Office has been put forward. During the LePage Administration in 2017, House Republicans put forward legislation to remove the Energy Office from the Governor's Office and establish an energy seat in the Cabinet. The 2017 legislation proposed activities for the office including energy planning, data analysis, and the implementation of an oil dependence reduction plan, among other tasks.

"Transitioning to a standalone department will strengthen the work of the Governor's Energy Office by ensuring a more durable and integrated structure that is able to take a comprehensive approach to energy planning and policy," said Dan Burgess, Director of the Governor's Energy Office. "By designating a cabinet seat focused solely on energy issues, Maine will be in a stronger position to deliver more affordable energy, advance our energy goals, and grow the state's economy."

"This proposal reaffirms the important role that energy plays in the lives of all Maine people and elevates the office to a level commensurate with the duties with which it is tasked," said Senator Mark Lawrence and Representative Melanie Sachs, co-chairs of the Maine Legislature's Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee. "State law requires Maine to transition to renewable energy and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, and it must do this while ensuring access to energy remains affordable, reliable, and secure. Regular planning, evaluation, and education delivered by a dedicated agency will ensure the consistency needed to keep Maine on a path toward these goals. There's a reason why this concept has been proposed previously in bipartisan fashion."

"Energy is one of most pressing issues for our state's economy and the Maine State Chamber applauds Governor Mills proposal to create a Maine Department of Energy Resources to coordinate our state's strategy," said Patrick Woodcock, President and CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. "Addressing energy affordability and meeting our state's climate targets will require careful planning and execution and the Chamber looks forward to working with the Administration on those efforts with a cabinet-level Energy Department leading that effort."

"Elevating the Governor's Energy Office to a Department is a strong signal that Maine is committed to ensuring affordable, reliable, clean energy for all people and businesses," said Eliza Donoghue, Executive Director of the Maine Renewable Energy Association. "The Maine Renewable Energy Association supports the Governor's proposal, which would solidify Maine's position as a leader in renewable energy and enable long-term planning and continued investment in the state's growing clean energy economy."

"Over the past decade, governors and legislatures across the nation have acted on a bipartisan basis to position State Energy Offices' energy policy development, planning, and program implementation functions at the top tier of state government leadership," said David Terry, President of the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO). "NASEO applauds Governor Mills' proposal, which would further enhance the ability of the energy office to achieve Maine's ambitious energy, economic, and environmental goals."

The Department would be the designated state energy office for Maine, a role which GEO is currently fulfilling, and would undertake the same core duties that GEO currently does as the lead agency on matters related to energy resources, policies, planning, data, markets, energy security and program implementation. The Department would assume some additional authority to conduct competitive energy procurements to achieve Maine's electric demand and reliability needs, consistent with the practice of energy departments in other states. The Department would also continue engagement and coordination with state agencies, the Maine Public Utilities Commission, and other state, regional and federal partners as presently led by GEO.

If the Governor's budget proposal is passed by the Maine Legislature, GEO would transition to a department by the end of this year. The Department would be led by a commissioner to be appointed by the Governor, which, like all cabinet-level positions, would be subject to confirmation by the committee of jurisdiction and the Legislature.