The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources will be under new management as the Healey administration looks to implement its own vision and strategy to advance the state's clean energy shift.
Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper announced Tuesday that she appointed Elizabeth Mahony, a veteran of the attorney general's office and the Massachusetts Senate, as commissioner of the Department of Energy Resources effective March 27. She replaces Patrick Woodcock, who led DOER for the last three-plus years.
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Tepper, who was chief of the energy and environment bureau in Healey's attorney general office before joining the administration, said she had worked with Mahony for a number of years and could vouch for her ability to come up with creative solutions to complex problems.
"Elizabeth will be at the epicenter of our clean energy transition, and I know she will prioritize ratepayers and advance equity in everything she does," the secretary said. DOER oversees some of the programs that will be relied upon as essential tools in Massachusetts' efforts to decarbonize and become a net-zero emissions state by 2050: the MOR-EV electric vehicle rebate system, the Green Communities designation and grant program, the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program, a major energy storage initiative, the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard, clean heating and cooling efforts, and more.
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Mahony most recently worked for Attorney General Andrea Campbell, and Healey before her, as assistant attorney general and senior policy advisor for energy. She had previously worked in the Energy and Telecommunications Division, where she focused on utility clean energy procurement, solar program development, consumer protections and legislative engagement.
Her Beacon Hill experience includes time as legislative and budget director and committee counsel to former Sen. Benjamin Downing, who led the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, and as public affairs director for former Sen. Susan Fargo. She once served as acting general counsel for DOER.
"I'm thrilled to be returning to the Department of Energy Resources to continue the important work of achieving the Commonwealth's bold clean energy goals," Mahony said in a statement. "We will be intently focused on preparing our grid for this transition, updating our housing stock for electrification, encouraging more solar, storage, and wind, and creating a fertile ground for the clean technology economy to flourish -- all while centering environmental justice communities in the work."
