Governor Janet Mills of Maine has proposed elevating the Governor's Energy Office (GEO) to a cabinet-level Department as part of her biennial budget proposal. Maine is one of only a handful of states in the U.S. that have an energy office located within the Governor's office.
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.
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.
"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."
"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."
If the Governor's budget proposal is passed by the Maine Legislature, GEO would transition to a department by the end of this year.
Additional information on the proposed reorganization can be found here.