By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Maine & Maritimes Corporation and Maine Public Service Company is undergoing a management shift, effective Wednesday, June 15.
Brent M. Boyles, who has served as president and chief executive officer of Maine & Maritimes Corporation and Maine Public Service, will be stepping down from those positions to assume the role of vice president of Maine business relations, for Emera. MAM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emera Inc., Halifax, N.S., and sister utility to Bangor Hydro Electric Company (Bangor Hydro).
In his new capacity, Boyles’ primary focus will be on developing transmission connections to new energy markets within New England. He will help transition MAM Utility Services Group, continue with the next steps needed to move the Maine Power Connection transmission line project forward, become more involved in government relations, promote strategic developments to advance electrification throughout the state and assist with the development of the Northeast Energy Link proposal.
Assuming the roles of president and chief operating officer of MAM and MPS will be Gerry Chasse. Lois Smith has been appointed interim general manager of MPS and will continue directing the integration and alignment activities being conducted within the two utilities.
“I am grateful to Brent for successfully leading Maine & Maritimes Corporation and Maine Public Service,” said Chasse. “Having worked closely with him during the acquisition (a merger between MPS and BHE Holdings, Inc. of Bangor, a subsidiary of Halifax-based Emera Inc. and parent company of Bangor Hydro-Electric Co., which took place last year), I can speak confidently about his skills, experience and team-based culture. As he assumes his new role, we will focus on bringing benefits of the merger to customers and profitable and sustainable growth of the business while bringing the benefits of Emera’s scale and assets in the Northeast to its ratepayers in Maine.”
For Boyles, the change is met with optimism.
“The landscape has changed. This will allow me to focus on activities I’ve worked on before,” said Boyles.
Boyles has 27 years of experience in the regulated electric utility industry, advancing through senior roles focused on corporate planning, regulatory compliance, rate design and operations. He has served as president and chief executive officer of MPS since 2005. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Military Academy, a graduate degree in management and a master of science degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College. He is currently the deputy adjutant general and commander of the Maine Army National Guard; and, by confirmation of the U.S. Senate on Dec. 22, 2010, for his second star, he will advance from brigadier to major general in the near future.
Chasse has served as president and chief operating officer of Bangor Hydro since January 2010. Prior to that, he served as executive vice president of operations. Chasse joined Bangor Hydro in 1990 as an electrical engineer and has held numerous positions of responsibility including manager of engineering in 2002, engineering and asset manager in 2004 and project manager for the engineering and construction of the Northeast Reliability Interconnect — a 150-mile, international transmission project from 2005 to 2007.
Chasse serves on the board of advisors for both the College of Engineering and the School of Business at the University of Maine. He attended the University of Maine at Orono and graduated in 1990 with a bachelor’s of science in electrical engineering. Chasse is a registered professional engineer.
