John Howat, Senior Policy Analyst, has been involved with energy programs and policy issues since 1981. His areas of interest and experience include design, analysis, and evaluation of low income energy affordability and efficiency programs, low-income utility consumer protection, energy burden analysis, analysis of program participation and outreach efforts, rate design, development of load profiles and energy service procurement. He currently manages a range of regulatory, legislative and non-governmental projects across the country in support of low-income consumers' access to affordable utility and energy-related services. He previously worked as a consultant and at various state legislatures and PUCs.
Charles Harak, Senior Attorney, has 30 years of experience focusing on issues of concern to low-income energy and utility consumers. He has represented low-income consumer groups in dozens of utility proceedings; testified frequently before state legislatures; and trained well over 1,000 advocates on the basic rights of utility consumers. He previously worked for the Massachusetts Attorney General and the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. He is co-author of the Guide to the Rights of Utility Consumers and an editor of Access to Utility Service. He is also President of the board of the Tri-City Community Action Program.
Olivia Bae Wein, Staff Attorney, has been working on federal and state low-income utility programs and policy issues since 1997. She is a primary author of NCLC’s Access to Utility Service and Guide to the Rights of Utility Consumers. She serves as NCLC’s representative on the board of directors of the National Low-Income Energy Consortium, co-chairs the LIHEAP Coalition, serves on the Steering Committee of the Campaign for Safe and Affordable Drinking Water, and served as a member of the U.S. EPA’s National Drinking Water Advisory Council’s Small Systems Affordability Work Group. Prior to working for NCLC, she was an Economic Justice Fellow at Consumers Union.
