Central Maine Power Announces Appointment of Joseph A. Purington as President and CEO

Native Mainer rejoins CMP where he started his career
CMP Executive Chairman, David Flanagan to assume senior advisory role

AUGUSTA, ME — August 25, 2021 — Central Maine Power (CMP), a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) today announced the appointment of Joseph A. Purington as President and CEO. Purington, who began his operations career at CMP in 1987, will assume his new position at the end of September.

David Flanagan, Executive Chairman for CMP, who helped lead the search to fill the CEO role, has announced he will assume a senior advisory role with the company upon Purington’s appointment.

“CMP will be in excellent hands with Joe returning to take the helm,” Flanagan said. “He is a Maine native, understands our customers, and his experience with CMP’s infrastructure and operations as well as his experience leading a similarly sized utility in New England, are the reasons we recruited him to lead the company.”

Flanagan continued: “Joe and I worked together during the ice storm of 1998 here in Maine and I trust his leadership and brilliant problem-solving abilities. He is well-suited to lead CMP into a new era that demands more clean energy to support the electrification of our economy.”

Purington worked at CMP for 28 years in a number of roles, including Director of Distribution Operations, and then in an expanded role for AVANGRID’s predecessor company with responsibility for ensuring that energy control centers and substation operations met all compliance and regulatory requirements. In 2014 he joined Eversource New Hampshire and in January 2020 assumed the position of President, New Hampshire Operations for Eversource.

“I am eager to return to Maine as a proud CMP employee once more, and to lead the company as we strive to meet – and exceed – the needs of our customers every single day,” said Purington. “While I will be returning to familiar territory and many familiar coworkers, we face new challenges in helping Maine realize its clean energy future, and I can’t wait to get started.”

“We are thrilled to have Joe come back to Maine to lead CMP,” said President and CEO of Avangrid Networks, Catherine Stempien. “He has deep experience in electric operations and utility leadership making him the ideal leader as CMP continues to address the future where clean energy delivery to customers is one of Maine’s highest priorities.”

“I also want to thank David Flanagan for his dedicated leadership of CMP for the past 18 months, for his wise counsel and friendship, and for agreeing to continue as an advisor to the company,” continued Stempien. “He rejoined CMP because of his profound connection and concern for the company and our employees and has done a phenomenal job helping to restore customer trust. All of us are deeply grateful to him.”

A Jay, Maine native, Purington attended Jay High School, earned an associate degree from Southern Maine Vocational Technical Institute (now SMCC) and a bachelor’s degree from Southern New Hampshire University. He is eager to engage with Maine community organizations as he has in New Hampshire, where he has served as Board Chair of Granite State United Way, as a director for Special Olympics New Hampshire, and the Eversource Veterans Association.

CMP’s Interim President and CEO Scott Mahoney will transition back to his role as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of AVANGRID when Purington assumes his position in late September.

About CMP: Central Maine Power Company (CMP), a subsidiary of AVANGRID, Inc., is Maine’s largest electricity transmission and distribution utility. Established in 1899 and based in Augusta, Maine, CMP serves approximately 636,000 customers across 346 communities in central and southern Maine. It operates approximately 23,500 miles of distribution lines and 2,900 miles of transmission lines. Over the last decade, the company has invested approximately $3.5 billion in Maine system infrastructure. In 2019, CMP was named Large Business of the Year by the Kennebec Valley United Way. For more information, visit cmpco.com.

About AVANGRID: AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) is a leading, sustainable energy company with approximately $36 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states. With headquarters in Orange, Connecticut, AVANGRID has two primary lines of business: Avangrid Networks and Avangrid Renewables. Avangrid Networks owns eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Avangrid Renewables owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. AVANGRID employs approximately 6,600 people. AVANGRID supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2019 and 2020 by the Ethisphere Institute. For more information, visit avangrid.com.

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