Name: Henry Herndon
Title: Director of Member Services
Employer: Community Power Coalition of NH (CPCNH)
City/Town of Residence:
Concord, NH
Education: BA in Political Science and MS in Natural Resources from University of NH
Why did you decide to work in the renewable/clean/clean energy industry?
I am motivated to build a more independent and innovative energy economy in my home state of New Hampshire.
What interested you in working at your current employer?
Community Power is revolutionizing the New Hampshire energy sector. It's transformative and it's inspiring to see local communities taking control of their energy decisions.
Describe the work you do in more detail.
I played a key leadership role in creating and launching CPCNH and the Community Power market, including leading a successful legislative advocacy campaign to shape the critical state laws. I manage a team that has supported dozens of cities and towns to plan, launch, and operate Community Power programs. Together we have generated over $10 million in savings and value for customers and communities in less than a year of operations. I oversee planning, launch, and operation of programs, regulatory compliance, customer service, external affairs, IT, and other operational and member service aspects of the company.
What aspect of your job excites you most? Why?
I am excited to see and work with hundreds of Granite Staters volunteering in their city or town on a local energy committee or community power committee to build meaningful change from the bottom up. Community Power gives these local energy leaders the capacity to speak with one voice and make a difference in critical state policy decisions, as well as decisions that effect their local city or town. It is inspiring to see communities come together to build a locally controlled, innovative, distributed energy future through Community Power.
What makes you hopeful about the clean energy transition in New Hampshire?
We have a culture of civic engagement and self reliance in New Hampshire that enables us create solutions to complex challenges for our selves in a way that reflects New Hampshire values. Granite Staters are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and create their own solutions.
What do you believe is the most pressing challenge that lies ahead for the clean energy industry in the state?
Everyone I know who works for a utility is a friendly and decent person. Unfortunately that doesn't change the fact that monopoly control and regulatory obstruction are consistently throwing sand in the gears of innovation and stifling all forms of competition that could otherwise bring clean energy solutions to the market. There are two options to modernizing energy markets by expanding market access to energy/meter data and information, application of efficient price signals, and empowerment of customers through smart devices, distributed energy resources, batteries, electric vehicles, and transactive energy: we can either find ways to collaborate with monopoly utilities in the areas of the market they control (meter data management, customer service/billing, load settlements), or we can relieve them of their monopoly control of these business functions which are not in fact natural monopolies.
What interested you most about being part of YPiE? (Young Professionals in Energy)
Fun fact, my colleague Brianna Brand and I founded YPiE back in 2018. It is a joy to see it growing strong six years later. We always felt it would support our industry and the clean energy transition if people from clean energy, efficiency, utilities, the state, the Office of the Consumer Advocate (OCA), the Department of Energy (DOE), the environmental sector, and everywhere else build relationships with one another and better understood each other's perspectives.
What advice would you give to someone that is new to the industry or fresh out of college?
Find a way to gain breadth in your perspective. If you work at a utility, make friends with people who work in solar, and vice versa. Participate in Clean Energy NH's great events, from Local Energy Solutions to YPIE to Drive Electric to the rest of them. There are a ton of incredible people in this industry from all sectors. Get to know them.
What do you like to do when you aren't working?
I like to play music. I also row with Concord Crew.
A typical weekend for me is...
Hiking, house projects, riding my bike, spending time with family.
Fun Facts:
Coffee or Tea? And how do you take it?
Ginger Tea.
Fave NH Restaurant?
Fave Musician/Band/Music genre?
70s and 90s music.
Fav Recreational activity?
Exploring mountains