Data centers use a lot of power. So much power, in fact, that new data center load has increased electricity prices in PJM (a regional power grid operator that covers a territory from Delaware to Chicago) by tens of billions of dollars.
There’s a lot at stake in the negotiations between the Massachusetts House and Senate over energy affordability legislation. Each branch has passed its own version, and now three members from each side are meeting to reconcile differences in a conference committee. It is expected that they will come out with one final product before Election Day in November. We have written a lot about the bills each side has passed, as well as the affordability offered by Governor Maura Healey in the spring of 2025.
It's been a minute since we published our last Car Corner blog post, and a lot has happened since then. If you've been tracking the world of electric vehicle (EV) news, you've likely seen a bunch of headlines with disappointing updates about vehicle models getting discontinued or projects getting cancelled. Luckily, that's not the whole story.
Anna Vanderspek
andAbigail Bowen
When an investor-owned utility, like National Grid or Eversource, builds an electric substation or makes some other infrastructure investment, it takes on debt to do so and then pays off that debt over time through revenue raised from ratepayers' bills. Before it is paid off, utilities use a mix of low-interest bonds and more expensive equity funding from their shareholders to finance their debt. This use of high-cost equity financing sends money to utility shareholders (which encourages people to invest in the utilities) but burdens ratepayers with higher bills.
After a several-month process, on Friday, August 21, the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission (PUC) made several decisions in response to a rate increase request from Rhode Island Energy (RIE). This rate case was primarily about what RIE would charge for distributing electricity and gas (think poles, wires, and pipelines). It did not affect the supply of gas or electricity. Overall, the decisions are good for ratepayers and will support the Ocean State’s efforts to comply with the 2021 Act on Climate.
The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) recently proposed changes to the structure of the Massachusetts rebate program for electric vehicles (EVs), MOR-EV. You can share your feedback on the proposed changes with DOER in writing or by attending a virtual or in-person public hearing. Here are all the details!
Some electric vehicle (EV) owners in Massachusetts with eligible vehicles will soon be able to receive compensation for plugging in their EVs and sending electricity back to the grid. The process of sending electricity back to the grid from your EV, also known as Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G), can help EV drivers earn extra money from their vehicles while reducing stress on the grid during peak energy demand days. This V2G opportunity will be administered through electric utility companies National Grid and Eversource through their ConnectedSolutions program.
The beginning of July marked record-breaking heat in Boston and Providence. These temperatures caused electricity demand to surge—known as peak demand events—as people ran their air conditioners to stay cool.
On Friday, July 31, Governor Healey held a press conference announcing that she had sent a letter to the leadership of the House and Senate about her priorities for energy legislation. The House and Senate have each passed energy bills and have recently formed a conference committee to hash out differences. Their work may take several weeks as there are dozens of issues to resolve. In this context, the governor’s letter could be a significant factor, and we think it’s worth a few minutes of your time.
Rhode Island has recently added to its suite of clean transportation rebate programs! This new program, ChargeRI, is designed to expand access to more affordable, energy-efficient electric vehicle (EV) charging for all Rhode Island residents. With an initial program budget of $2,500,000 and four sectors that can apply, Rhode Island is taking a big step towards a clean, affordable, reliable, and equitable future. Here's how you can significantly reduce the up-front costs of installing EV charging!
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