Hartford Business Journal

14 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MAY 17, 2021 On The Record By Greg Bordonaro gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com I n the days following last August's Tropical Storm Isaias, which caused over 1 million Connecticut residents and businesses to lose power — some for as many as nine days — then Eversource CEO Jim Judge took flak from the media, politicians and others for not being a more public face of the utility company's storm response. "Where's Jim Judge, the invisible Eversource boss?" one local columnist's headline read. That may have added to the public's frustration with the company, which months later continues to take criticism for how it responded to the storm, though Eversource officials say some of the Monday-morning quarterbacking is unwarranted, especially since the major weather event was worse than initially forecast and took place amid a pandemic. Regardless, don't expect to see similar headlines with Joe Nolan now in charge. That's because Nolan, who started as Eversource's new CEO on May 5, said he will be a much more public figure, and one of his top priorities is to restore customers' confidence in the company. "In Connecticut I want to win over the hearts and minds of our customers," he said. "Customers were upset, there is no question about it, after Isaias. It was a very tough storm." Nolan recently sat down with the Hartford Business Journal for a 50-minute, wide-ranging interview that touched on numerous topics ranging from last summer's tropical storm to Eversource's big bet on wind energy and its bullish outlook on the water industry. White-haired and affable, the 58-year-old Nolan is a Massachusetts resident with a Boston accent. He's got close ties to that city. Not only is Eversource dual headquartered in Boston, but he earned his undergraduate communications degree and MBA at Boston College. He also started his career in the Prudential Center, running a customer service center for the former Boston Edison Co., a small utility operator. He said his background in communications, customer service and government and regulatory affairs makes him well-suited to run a large regional and heavily-regulated utility company. Outside of work Nolan is married with four daughters. He enjoys playing golf, has an 18 handicap and plans to play in this year's Travelers Championship pro-am. Eversource is a sponsor of the PGA golf tournament and remains the title sponsor of the Eversource Hartford Marathon. Nolan said his company is committed to maintaining a dual headquarters in Hartford. Overall, Eversource employs about 4,500 people in Connecticut and provides electric, natural gas and water service to 4.3 million customers in this state, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Here's what else Nolan had to say during the HBJ interview, which took place in his Prospect Street corner office in downtown Hartford, just a few hours before the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) proposed a $30 million fine against Eversource for its handling of Tropical Storm Isaias. Q: So, how do you plan to win over the hearts and minds of customers? I think what you'll see with me is I'll be very hands on. For example, I was in Berlin on Christmas Day when we had customers who lost service. I certainly wasn't going to enjoy my holiday when we had folks without power, so I spent the day there and was able to make sure customers were prioritized. I was in Branford after Isaias and a reporter caught me talking to a woman with a chainsaw and we got a few laughs out of that. But that's what you'll begin to see. That's the way I operate. I get out there and see people and engage people. And I think that serves us well after the fact. Q: What are the biggest changes you foresee for Eversource over the next five to 10 years? I think there is a lot of technology that will become available that will give customers more line of sight in terms of what they are using for electricity and I think that will have a big impact. I think you will see more smart meters deployed so customers can better understand how much energy they are using, and frankly help them use less energy. Everyday we see new technology. We will not be on the bleeding edge of it. We want to see technology that has been deployed and successful because every dollar we spend we are spending on behalf of our customers and it needs to be prudently spent. Q: Speaking of smart meters, Eversource unveiled a $500 million plan last year to install 1.2 million smart meters across Connecticut. What's the status of that plan and what would be the benefits to ratepayers, particularly businesses? New Energy In first days as Eversource CEO, Joe Nolan lays out vision for utility giant's future HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER Eversource CEO Joe Nolan in his Prospect Street corner office in downtown Hartford.

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