NEW YORK wind farm developers earlier this week said they needed more money from ratepayers to get their projects off the ground, which had to be a tad embarrassing for Eversource and its CEO, Joe Nolan.

Eversource is best known in Massachusetts as the state’s largest utility, but it also has tried its hand at offshore wind with its partner Orsted. Eversource’s dual role means it sits on both sides of the offshore wind negotiating table. In Massachusetts, Eversource the utility has negotiated deals with offshore wind developers on behalf of ratepayers. In New York, Eversource the offshore wind developer has negotiated its own offshore wind deals with New York regulators.

Last year, Eversource negotiated power purchase agreements with Commonwealth Wind and SouthCoast Wind in Massachusetts. Months after the deals were done, the two wind farm developers came back to Eversource and Massachusetts regulators and said rising interest rates, inflation, supply chain disruptions, and the war in Ukraine had made the contracts unworkable. They asked for some pricing adjustments.

Eversource, the other Massachusetts utilities, and the Department of Public Utilities all said no. A deal is a deal, they said.

Nolan, in an interview in mid-December with an investment firm, was quite adamant about not reopening the contract. According to a transcript of the interview, he suggested the wind farm developers had bid too low and shouldn’t be allowed to get out of the deal now that economic circumstances had changed.

“This is the price they bid, so that we are not going to renegotiate those contracts under any circumstances. So no matter what they say, that’s not going to happen,” he said. 

Fast forward to this week, and the shoe (or the pricing problem, to be more exact) is on the other foot. Sunrise Wind, a joint venture of Orsted and Eversource, filed motions with New York regulators asking for pricing adjustments to the wind farm contract they negotiated in 2019 because of inflation, supply chain disruptions, and the war in Ukraine.

“These unanticipated, extraordinary economic events beyond Sunrise Wind’s control have upended its careful financial and developmental planning for the project,” the companies said in their filing with state regulators.

In both New York and Massachusetts, the outcome of the negotiations over the adequacy of the previously signed wind farm power purchase agreements is still unclear.  And while the debates in both states seem strikingly similar, Eversource spokesman William Hinkle said in an emailed statement that there is a distinction between Massachusetts and New York.

“Our regulated businesses at Eversource operate independently of the unregulated affiliate that is a member of the joint venture with Orsted, and there is a significant distinction between that venture and our responsibility to serve Massachusetts customers as an electric distribution utility in the Commonwealth,” he said. “In Massachusetts, the law sets a minimum price cap that Eversource was not at liberty to change, and there is no process by which a DPU-approved contract can be amended following approval; whereas in New York, there are policy considerations and a process by which a petition of this nature can be considered.”

BRUCE MOHL

 

FROM COMMONWEALTH

Senate tax plan: The Senate’s proposed $590 million tax plan has a slightly different take on competitiveness, choosing tax breaks for housing rather than eliminating the 12 percent tax on short-term capital gains.

– Sen. Michael Rodrigues of Westport, the chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said the priority shouldn’t be just on retaining wealthy residents. “Wealthier folks have always left Massachusetts as they age. They’ve been going to Florida and Arizona as long as I remember, where the weather is a little nicer. That’s not unusual. I am most concerned about the 25- to 40-year-old demographic, the working families that want to put down roots in Massachusetts,” he said. Read more.

Free Blue Line: The Blue Line will be free during July and August while the Sumner Tunnel is shut down for a two-month overhaul. The state is also offering free or reduced fares on ferries, commuter rail, and Logan Express buses. Read more.

T ridership up: MBTA ridership hit its highest level since the start of the pandemic, reaching 68 percent of pre-pandemic levels during March. Of all the travel modes, commuter rail (80 percent of pre-pandemic ridership) and bus (79 percent) were tops; subway ridership was the lowest at 59 percent. Read more.

 

FROM AROUND THE WEB                        

 

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

The Daily Hampshire Gazette takes stock of downtown Northampton as COVID begins to loosen its grip on businesses. A Berkshire Eagle editorial looks at the holes left behind when local businesses like Alliance Appliance close their doors.

A developer of a 99-unit apartment is suing Marlborough over a City Council decision to revise the project’s parking requirements, doubling the needed on-site parking spots. (MetroWest Daily News)

HEALTH/HEALTH CARE

Doctors in training at Mass General Brigham, the state’s largest hospital system, vote to form a union with an affiliate of Service Employees International Union. (WBUR)

Ashish Jha is leaving his post as White House COVID-19 czar to return to his position as dean of the public health school at Brown University. (Boston Globe)

State health officials are bracing for “a very choppy summer” as MassHealth redetermination continues, taking steps to make sure patients don’t show up to appointments without active coverage. (State House News Service)

WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Former president Donald Trump has been indicted on multiple federal felony charges related to his handling classified documents, becoming the first former president to ever face federal criminal charges. (New York Times)

ELECTIONS

Another Republican is jumping into the race to replace Sen. Anne Gobi. Rebekah Etique, a Leicester paralegal and campaign manager for James Amorello’s 2022 state Senate campaign, announced her plan to run in the special election this week. (Worcester Telegram)

EDUCATION

Cambridge prepares to offer free pre-school to all 4-year-olds starting in fall 2024. (WBUR)

ARTS/CULTURE

Miz Diamond Wigfall, with her troupe of drag performers, has created a tiny queer economy in Salem. (Salem News)

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

The unhealthy air quality in New England is expected to continue, as Canadian wildfires send smoke and dust over Cape Cod. (Cape Cod Times)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS

Two victims sexually abused by former Boston police officer Patrick Rose are suing more than a dozen officials and institutions they say failed to fully investigate and stop Rose almost three decades ago, including the former Boston Police Department commissioner, the patrolmen’s union, and the state Department of Children and Families. (WBUR)

A former Belchertown police lieutenant is convicted of illegally photographing women in various stages of undress at his home. He is sentenced to probation. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)