A TRUMP ADMINISTRATION INITIATIVE to financially buttress struggling coal and nuclear power plants is prompting the operator of the New England power grid to put off the release of a […]
Electricity
Posted inOpinion
Pipeline gas report is misleading, inaccurate
THE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND’S new report on New England electric and natural gas markets provides a profoundly misleading and inaccurate analysis. Two utilities cited in the report (Avangrid and Eversource) did […]
Posted inEnvironment
Natl. Grid calls foul on Hydro-Quebec proposal
THE HIGH-STAKES BATTLE for a multibillion-dollar Massachusetts clean energy contract is heading in an uncertain direction, with National Grid asserting that the bids of one of its largest competitors, Hydro-Quebec, run afoul of the intent of the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Report: Eversource artificially constrained gas pipeline capacity
EVERSOURCE ENERGY and Avangrid Inc. participated in a scheme to artificially constrain natural gas pipeline capacity in New England and drive up electricity prices by $3.6 billion over three years, […]
Posted inEnvironment
Utilities on both sides of bargaining table
IN MID-MAY, the MBTA hired a Colorado company to help the agency manage the $2 billion extension of the Green Line into Somerville and Medford. Less than three months later, […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Time to put pedal to the metal
WE GENERALLY THINK of Eversource, National Grid, and other utilities as the providers of the electricity we need to keep the lights on. That they are, but over the next […]
Posted inOpinion
Could electricity become too cheap to meter?
YEARS AGO, DURING AN ERA in which nuclear power had great promise, advocates for this energy form said that it would produce electricity “too cheap to meter.” While that prediction […]
Posted inOpinion
Stopping climate change starts at home
AS OUR NATION RECOVERS from the damage of three devastating hurricanes and ravaging wildfires it is clear to most Americans that this increasingly severe weather is caused by a warming […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Rick Perry links pipelines, natural security
THERE WAS MORE NEWS out of Washington this week suggesting that the federal government could intervene to override local opposition to natural gas pipelines in order to protect national security. […]
Posted inEnvironment
Reliance on natural gas expected to grow
THE OPERATOR OF THE NEW ENGLAND power grid said on Thursday that demand for electricity will remain fairly flat over the next decade, but warned that the region will become […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Eversource’s solar proposal needs to go
HEADS UP EVERSOURCE CUSTOMERS – a discriminatory charge could be coming your way. In its latest general rate case, Eversource announced that it would like to impose a “demand charge” […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
New England’s power grid operator is biased
TWENTY YEARS AGO, as part of its effort to create competitive electricity markets, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorized the Independent System Operator of New England (ISO New England) […]
Posted inEnvironment
Northern Pass dealt a regulatory blow
A NEW HAMPSHIRE REGULATORY AGENCY said on Thursday it won’t be able to meet its Sept. 30 deadline for making a go-no go decision on Eversource’s Northern Pass transmission project. […]
Posted inEnvironment
National Grid, Hydro-Quebec snipe over hydro power
NATIONAL GRID AND HYDRO-QUEBEC, two companies competing for Massachusetts clean energy contracts, are sniping at each other over the environmental benefits of hydroelectricity in dueling CommonWealth opinion pieces. The op-eds […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
No clean energy shell game
IN HIS COMMONWEALTH MAGAZINE op-ed entitled “Quebec hydropower is ‘shell game,’” John Flynn misses the point about Hydro-Québec’s growth and export strategy. We are not taking clean energy from one region […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Quebec hydropower is ‘shell game’
RON GERWATOWSKI’S OP-ED (“Price shouldn’t be sole focus of clean energy buys”) makes an essential point about clean-energy procurement. In the end, Massachusetts’ historic legislation to harness significantly more renewable […]
Posted inUncategorized
NE states propose 30% cut in power plant emissions
NINE NORTHEASTERN AND MID-ATLANTIC STATES, including Massachusetts, unveiled a proposal on Wednesday that would require power plants running on fossil fuels to cut their carbon dioxide emissions 30 percent between […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Sorting out our perverse electricity markets
THE RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT by developers of the Access Northeast natural gas pipeline that they are suspending the project until legislation allows for electric ratepayer financing of pipelines illustrates a major […]
Posted inOpinion
Price shouldn’t be sole focus of clean energy buys
NEWS ITEM: Large-scale hydro-electricity from Hydro-Quebec may cost more than the average wholesale price of energy. Should we be alarmed by this? Not quite. But why not? First, some background. […]
Posted inEnvironment
Northern Pass clears federal hurdle
FEDERAL REGULATORS CLEARED THE WAY on Thursday for Eversource’s Northern Pass transmission project to receive one of the two permits necessary to begin construction of a line carrying hydroelectricity from […]
Posted inEnvironment
Pricing hints on Hydro-Quebec power
A LEAKED POWER CONTRACT between Hydro-Quebec and the province of Ontario may offer some insight into what kind of deal the utility is currently offering Massachusetts for hydro-electricity. The proposed […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Pick up the pace on clean energy
LOOK AND LISTEN, and you’ll see progress. Solar and wind power farms are cropping up across the landscape. Private sector investments are following good public policy, speeding the transition of […]
Posted inEnvironment
Ingredients for climate success
MASSACHUSETTS HAS A STRONG RECORD addressing climate-changing pollution. In the early 2000s, Massachusetts was a founding partner in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multi-state, bipartisan cooperative that has […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Hydro-Quebec partners up
HYDRO-QUEBEC, a utility giant that fashions itself the electric battery of the Northeast, is partnering with three different transmission companies in competing for a massive clean energy contract with Massachusetts. […]