Rick Counihan

  • September 19, 2017
  • Rick Counihan is the Head of Energy Regulatory and Governmental Affairs for Nest Labs, the maker of the Nest Thermostat. In that capacity he is responsible for relations with the Federal and State governmental energy agencies.
  • Rick has over 25 years experience in the energy and utility fields, with employment stints in state, local and federal government, as well as the private sector. Prior to Nest, Rick was Vice-President of Government Affairs for EnerNOC, Inc., a leader in demand response and energy management services for the commercial and industrial sectors for 8 years. Before EnerNOC, Rick was Vice President at the Electricity Innovation Institute (E2I), a nonprofit research institute affiliated with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to build public/private partnerships to improve the nation’s electricity systems and an early research center on the Smart Grid. Rick has also been Vice President at Green Mountain Energy Company, a retail energy service provider selling renewable power. Rick worked in regulatory affairs for five years with Southern California Edison and was a professional staffer for the Energy and Commerce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives for six years.
  • Rick has a Bachelors degree in Economics from Pomona College and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University. Rick sits on the boards of the Center for Resource Solutions and the Association for Demand Response and SmartGrid.