Consumer Advocate Kreis Reappointed

At its November 8 meeting, the Executive Council unanimously confirmed Consumer Advocate Donald M. Kreis to a third four-year term at the helm of the office that defends the interests of New Hampshire’s residential utility customers.

“I am grateful to Governor Sununu for nominating me, and to Executive Councilors Gatsas, Kenney, Stevens, Warmington, and Wheeler, for voting to confirm me,” said Kreis.  “It will be a great honor to continue to serve our state’s ratepayers, and I look forward to the next four years.”

The process of appointing, or reappointing, a Consumer Advocate is an unusual one.  The Residential Ratepayers Advisory Board serves as the gatekeeper in the first instance; a Consumer Advocate can only gain reappointment if the Advisory Board so recommends.  In this instance, the Advisory Board sent its recommendation to Governor Sununu in July.

“The Advisory Board is a critical part of our office,” said Kreis.  “I take board members’ advice very seriously, I do my best to treat the Advisory Board the way an executive director would treat the board of a nonprofit, and I look forward to continuing to rely on the Advisory Board for advice and counsel.”

Kreis said his priorities during the next four years include reform at the regional level, where the nonprofit regional transmission organization ISO New England controls wholesale power markets and the bulk power transmission system.  ISO New England typically defers to its stakeholder advisory body, NEPOOL, of which the Office of the Consumer Advocate is a member.

“We are in the process of hiring our first Director of Regional and Federal Affairs, a key aspect of our effort to beef up our advocacy before ISO New England, NEPOOL, and, when necessary, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,” said Kreis.  “Our near-term priority involves imposing some actual scrutiny on so-called ‘asset condition’ transmission projects, of which $6 billion are either under construction or being planned – all with essentially no outside scrutiny.”

Kreis said he looked forward to continuing to work with the state’s electric and gas utilities on defending and enhancing the state’s ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs, offered under the NHSaves banner.  He also noted that in December the OCA plans to file testimony in the net metering docket pending at the Public Utilities Commission, whose purpose is to develop a longterm approach to paying for electricity exported to the grid by customers with solar panels and other forms of distributed generation.

Other ‘coming attractions’ for the OCA include the issuance of a study by Eversource of the feasibility of deploying advanced metering infrastructure in its service territory, an initiative undertaken at the request of the PCA.  There is a pending electric rate case for Liberty, in which the question of alternative ratemaking and performance incentives looms large; the OCA plans to offer proposals to counter those of the utility.

Consumer Advocate Kreis first took office in February 2016, upon the nomination of Governor Maggie Hassan (currently a U.S. Senator).  He has now been twice renominated by her successor, Governor Chris Sununu.  “I enjoyed working with Governor Hassan and her administration, and it is also a pleasure to work with Governor Sununu and his team,” said Kreis.  “The secret to working with elected officials of both major political parties is to remain resolutely nonpartisan and respectful of all,” he added, “always bearing in mind that we all basically want the same thing.  In the context of utilities, we all want safe and reliable service at the lowest possible cost while maximizing customer freedom.”

"Few people can claim what I get to claim, which is that I have my dream job," said the Consumer Advocate.  "I am so thankful to everyone who has helped me get here, helped me stay here, and helped me do this important work."

The new term of the Consumer Advocate expires on November 5, 2027.  “By then I expect the Red Sox to have won the World Series at least two more times,” said Kreis.