Final in a series. The first installment focused on natural gas and the second on utilities. A DECADE FROM NOW, electricity mix in Massachusetts could look quite different from what […]
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Posted inEnvironment
It’s time to sunburn National Grid
DURING A 2014 LEGISLATIVE HEARING, one state senator in Massachusetts compared our current utility structure to a Soviet system—bureaucratic, opaque, and inefficient with little public accountability. Hearing National Grid prevaricate […]
Posted inUncategorized
Grid operator confident about this winter
THE POWER GRID OPERATOR IN NEW ENGLAND said it expects to have sufficient supplies of electricity this winter despite concerns about the inadequate capacity of natural gas pipelines coming into […]
Posted inEnvironment
Eversource, Grid submit gas pipeline contracts to DPU
THE STATE’S TWO MAJOR ELECTRIC UTILITIES are asking state regulators to approve contracts they have negotiated on behalf of their customers to purchase access to proposed natural gas pipelines. National […]
Posted inEnvironment
Healey study: No new pipelines needed
A STUDY COMMISSIONED BY ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY indicates new natural gas pipelines are not needed because the region’s power grid will face no “reliability deficiency” through 2030. Even with […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Baker right on hydropower, clean energy contracts
DAN DOLAN’S broadside against Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposal to bring additional hydropower into our electricity market reminds me of the time when the New England power generators essentially told me […]
Posted inEnvironment
Is Baker having a Cape Wind moment?
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S PROPOSAL to import hydropower from Canada would end up raising electricity prices in Massachusetts and have limited impact on reducing carbon emissions, according to a report released […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
We don’t need Kinder Morgan’s pipeline
THE ISSUE OF NEED is of paramount importance in the matter of Kinder Morgan’s Northeast Energy Direct’s natural gas pipeline proposal. Yet need plays no part in Federal Energy Regulatory […]
Posted inEnvironment
What Pilgrim decision says about energy market
NO MATTER WHERE YOU STAND on nuclear power, the thought process behind Entergy Corp.’s decision to shut down its reactor in Plymouth reveals a lot about the energy market in […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Power prices at historic lows
AS THE NEW ENGLAND GOVERNORS and Eastern Canadian premiers meet at their annual gathering this week, the New England Power Generators Association and the COMPETE Coalition would like to take […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker says state is at energy crossroads
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Tuesday that Massachusetts and the rest of New England are standing at a crossroads on energy, but it appears he wants to go down a […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Q&A: Sorting out solar
It seems like solar power was going great guns under former governor Deval Patrick, but now everyone is fighting about it. What’s going on? Solar did do phenomenally well under […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Solar power rhetoric, lobbying heats up
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE House leaders are taking their effort to pass a solar energy bill before the winter recess down to the wire, fomenting an increasingly bitter and public […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Part 2: What states are doing on energy
Second of three parts IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, policymakers across New England may commit tens of billions of ratepayers’ dollars to gas pipelines and electric transmission that will shape […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Solar power’s benefits outweigh its costs
MASSACHUSETTS IS A LEADER in solar power and most experts will tell you that has been a good thing for homeowners, businesses, low income communities, and everyone else who pays […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, Opinion
New England governors should lead region to a sustainable energy future
THIS WEEK THE New England governors will meet in Connecticut to discuss potential solutions to one of our region’s most serious economic challenges: the high cost of electricity and energy. […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Gordon Van Welie, do your job
THE US ENERGY Information Administration is a federal agency that “collects, analyzes, and disseminates independent and impartial energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and public understanding of energy […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Part 1: We’re not facing an energy crisis in New England
First of a three-part series NEW ENGLAND’S ENERGY SYSTEM is at an important juncture, but we are not facing a crisis. After last year’s winter, many argued for radical action […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
New England governors vow to boost natural gas capacity
THE NEW ENGLAND governors met behind closed doors on energy issues in Hartford on Thursday and vowed afterwards to work collaboratively to expand the region’s natural gas pipeline capacity. What shape that […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Should electric ratepayers pay for gas pipelines?
THERE SOON MAY be a new charge on your electric bill for natural gas pipeline construction. The novel idea first surfaced last summer as the six New England states began […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Part 3: Energy rules need to change
Third of three parts OUR ENERGY SYSTEM is evolving and will look very different in years to come from what we have today. Electricity produced by solar, wind, and other […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Healey comes out strong for renewables
What follows is a copy of Attorney General Maura Healey’s prepared remarks to the NECA Renewables Conference minus her introductory statement. Today, I would like to talk to you about […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Regional power play begins to take shape
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and his counterparts in the other New England states are pursuing a multibillion-dollar effort to import more natural gas and low-carbon electricity into the region. Few […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Baker pushes regional energy approach
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION said on Wednesday it plans to work with utilities in Massachusetts and neighboring states to purchase renewable energy and expand the region’s natural gas pipeline infrastructure. In […]