Staff Spotlight: Mike Bull
Posted by Tim Hanrahan | Date August 26, 2015
Name: Mike Bull, Director of Policy and Communications
Time at CEE: 2 years
Home town: Presque Isle, ME
Favorite school subject: Cultural Anthropology
Why CEE?: I love CEE's emphasis on practical, cost-effective clean energy solutions — turning ideas into action to increase economic productivity and reduce carbon emissions.
In Mike's words:
CEE's best attribute is that we are grounded in data and experience. As I said to a colleague the other day,"We like to know stuff before we say stuff."
We are working hard at every level of Minnesota's emerging energy transformation — from technical research, to direct interaction with customers and local governments, to engaging with utilities and their regulators. In the next few years, I believe CEE will make an even broader and deeper impact on accelerating that transformation, empowering customers and communities (working with the utilities that serve them) to have more say in their energy use.
In my job, I help establish our policy, regulatory, and communications strategies, all of which provide a foundation for other aspects of our work — technical research, programs and services, financing, and community engagement. The quality of my colleagues' collective work and daily impact make me incredibly proud of helping to lay that foundation for our progress.
These days, my team is doing ground-breaking work to identify and implement a regulatory framework for a utility model that is more customer-centric while still vertically integrated to control costs, quality, and delivery of services. To arrive at regulatory solutions that can be broadly supported by all, CEE regularly plays a bridging role between the business community and environmental advocates, energy utilities, and policymakers.
Bridging gaps and working for shared goals — this "Minnesota Way" of energy policymaking — has led to nation-leading clean energy policies that promote energy efficiency, renewable energy, and carbon emission reductions. And for almost 40 years (and counting!), CEE has been a leader on that journey.
Mike's staff bio