AUGUSTA, Maine (WGAN) Governor Janet Mills has nominated an attorney and member of the state’s energy office to serve as Public Advocate.
Governor Mills announced Wednesday she had nominated William Harwood for the position. Harwood is an energy and utility attorney and has served as Senior Advisor for Regulatory Affairs in the state’s energy office since September.
Barry Hobbins vacated the role when he retired in June. Andrew Landry, Deputy Public Advocate, has been serving as Acting Public Advocate in the meantime.
“I am honored to be nominated as Maine’s Public Advocate. If confirmed, I will work hard every day to defend the interests of Maine people,” Harwood said in a statement. “The bottom line is that Maine ratepayers deserve reliable service at just and reasonable rates, and I will fight every day to make sure that’s what they are getting.”
The position has come with increased visibility in recent years as regulators have handled complaints from Central Maine Power customers stemming from billing issues and frequent outages.
Harwood will need to be confirmed by the Maine Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee and the state senate.
