Paul DeCotis will be the new deputy secretary for energy.As Gov. Eliot Spitzer makes a big push for alternative energy and energy conservation in New York, he is adding new firepower to his team to get the job done.

In early December, Paul DeCotis will join the governor’s office as the deputy secretary for energy. He currently serves as director of energy analysis for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, where he oversees state energy forecasting and planning, energy policy analysis and development, legislative analysis, and corporate strategic planning. DeCotis also serves as president of Innovative Management Solutions, a position he has held since 1991.

DeCotis previously served in the New York State Energy Office for 15 years. While there, he served in several capacities, including policy analysis chief. In that role, he supervised policy analysis and development in areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy, alternative energy technologies, and legislation. Since 1985, he has served as an adjunct faculty member at several colleges and universities including the Rochester Institute of Technology, Sage Colleges, Cornell University, Empire State College and College of Saint Rose.

An NYLCV alum has also been promoted within the administration and will be DeCotis’ new right-hand person. Last month, the governor named Tom Congdon as the assistant secretary for energy; he had served as special assistant for energy since February. From 2000-2007, Congdon served as a policy analyst in the Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Bureau, where he worked on, among other environmental and energy issues, expanding investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy. Prior to joining the Attorney General's office, he was the policy director at the New York League of Conservation Voters.

DeCotis and Congdon will help shepherd some the most ambitious proposals of Gov. Spitzer’s administration into reality. Among them is the “15 by 15” Initiative, whereby the state plans to reduce electricity use by 15 percent from forecasted levels by the year 2015 through new energy efficiency programs in industry and government. The other major energy proposal in the pipeline is the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI. This 10-state plan calls for a 10 percent reduction in power plant emissions by the year 2018. By 2021, emissions throughout the Northeast are expected to be 16 percent lower than they would have without the program.

"Nowhere is the need for a creative new approach more apparent than in our energy sector," Gov. Spitzer said. "We have some of the highest electricity costs in the nation and our thinking on energy policy is as outmoded as our aging power plants. But we can make real progress toward economic and environmental goals with a comprehensive program that focuses on energy efficiency and conservation, and investment in new technology."

Newsletter Issue

• Ecopolitics Monthly --- December 2007