Wellesley has hired longtime Concord, Mass., employee David Wood as its new director of the Municipal Light Plant. He replaces the recently retired Don Newell, who joined the MLP in 1999 and served as director since 2019.
Wood started his career in Concord as an engineering intern in 1995, and accepted a position as electric engineer in 1998 (he was later promoted to engineering and operations manager). In 2010 Wood became director of Concord’s community-owned utility.
According to an article in The Concord Bridge, Concord Town Manager Kerry Lafleur said highlights of Wood’s career there included “working on community goals of energy savings and greening the electric supply,” plus metering upgrades that will save customers money.
Wellesley’s MLP had been of interest to Wood for a while. “When I heard that the existing Director was retiring, I saw there was an opportunity to bring my experiences and to apply them to existing projects and future goals,” he says.
Wood says both MLPs have “diverse power supply portfolios and are pursuing carbon-free power options.” Having just started, he says it’s too early to discuss his goals. “I am still in the data collection and evaluation phases,” Wood says.
The new director had his hands full from the start in Wellesley, with his first Wellesley Municipal Light Board meeting today, Jan. 31. On the agenda were items such as seeking board approval for the FY25 operating budget (see Wellesley Media recording of meeting).
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