Eversource Energy announced Wednesday it’s appointed a new chief executive officer with a background in customer service, succeeding CEO Jim Judge, who was forced to defend the utility’s response to Tropical Storm Isaias that knocked out power for days last summer to hundreds of thousands of Connecticut customers.

Joe Nolan, whose portfolio includes renewable energy, a key priority for the utility that’s partnering with Danish company Ørsted on offshore wind power, takes the top job May 5 when Judge becomes executive chairman of the board.

“I started in customer service,” said Nolan, Eversource’s executive vice president for strategy and customer and corporate relations. “It’s the only job I ever had.”

Judge, who has been CEO since 2016, took heat from Gov. Ned Lamont, members of the General Assembly and Connecticut regulators for the utility’s preparation of, and response to, Isaias that swept through Connecticut on Aug. 4.

Nolan, who promised to “win the hearts and minds of the people in Connecticut,” said his priorities also include clean energy. He helped negotiate a deal with New London over the use of the State Pier that will be a staging area for wind turbine assembly.

“I was able to get that deal nailed down,” he said.