FOIA records highlight revolving door between energy regulators and climate advocacy groups
Newly obtained public records reveal that James M. Van Nostrand, while serving as Chair of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, used his official government email account to seek potential employment opportunities with organizations tied to the climate policy industry.
The emails were obtained by the Fiscal Alliance Foundation through a public records request filed by the Government Accountability and Oversight.
In one email dated August 21, 2025, Van Nostrand contacted energy policy consultant Susan Tierney using his state email account. In the message, he discussed his upcoming departure from the Department and asked whether she would be interested in speaking about possible opportunities at the Analysis Group or the Energy Foundation.
The email was sent several days before his departure from the agency was publicly announced.
Additional internal correspondence from Van Nostrand reveals that he described the Department’s mission as part of a broader commitment to advancing the Commonwealth’s “clean energy transition.” In the same message to senior staff, he praised incoming commission chair Jeremy McDiarmid, noting that the two had become good friends during his time in Boston. McDiarmid previously worked at several climate and clean energy advocacy organizations including Advanced Energy United, the Acadia Center, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, and the New England Clean Energy Council.
The Department of Public Utilities is responsible for regulating electric utilities and approving policies and long-term renewable energy contracts that directly affect the cost of electricity for Massachusetts residents.
“These emails raise serious questions about the relationship between the state’s top utility regulator and the climate industry. The person responsible for protecting ratepayers should not be using a government email account to line up potential jobs with organizations that advocate for the very policies driving energy costs higher.” said Paul Diego Craney, Executive Director of the Fiscal Alliance Foundation.
“When regulators move comfortably between government posts and the climate advocacy industry, it undermines public confidence that ratepayer interests are coming first. Families and small businesses across Massachusetts are facing some of the highest electricity prices in the country. They deserve regulators who are focused on keeping energy affordable and reliable, not advancing the agenda of the climate policy ecosystem that continues to drive up costs,” said Craney.
The Fiscal Alliance Foundation said the records highlight the increasingly close relationship between government regulators and advocacy groups involved in reshaping Massachusetts energy policy.
“As electricity bills continue to rise, the public deserves to know whether the people making these decisions are acting independently or operating within a revolving door between government and the climate industry. The Department of Public Utilities exists to protect ratepayers, and that mission should never be blurred by career networking with the very industry that benefits from these policies,” concluded Craney.