The Energy Consumer's Bulletin- a New England energy news blog

Where are the new renewables coming from?

If you’ve looked at our local resources map recently you’ve noticed that Mass Energy/People’s Power & Light is now supporting more renewable energy sources than ever before. This has been made possible thanks to the contribution of our members who made the switch to green electricity, and to the commitment of seven (7) communities that wanted their electricity to come from local, clean energy resources and made it happen through a process called Green Municipal Aggregation.

Member spotlight: Joel Gates

Joel Gates and his daughter, Sarah, volunteering to showcase their Chevy Bolt at Audubon's Raptor Weekend in September 2017. 

For Joel Gates, living sustainably is more than just greening his electricity, it is a way of life. A resident of Glocester Rhode Island, Joel has been a part of People’s Power & Light (PP&L) for 13 years. From greening his electricity with ground-mount solar panels and PP&L’s green power programs to driving an all-electric vehicle and advocating for clean energy in Rhode Island, he epitomizes what it means to be a PP&L member.  For these reasons, we are honoring Joel for his dedicated support as the 2018 Member Spotlight Awardee at our 16th Annual Meeting on Thursday, May 17th at the Renaissance Providence Downtown Hotel. Get your tickets at: RIpower.org/16years

Timely New Report Shows Substantial Disparities in Energy Savings Among Massachusetts Communities

This piece written by Eugenia Gibbons and Khalida Smalls was originally published by the Barr Foundation. We believe believe that the Massachusetts Energy Efficiency Report's implications also apply to Rhode Island.

National Grid’s Rate Increase in Rhode Island: Will it Transform the Power Sector?

Original artwork from Mass. College of Art and Design student, Erin MacEachern, created for People's Power & Light/Mass Energy

Rhode Island is actively adding more solar, electric vehicles (EVs), and other distributed sources of energy across the state. These clean technologies are essential to reach our greenhouse gas emission reduction goals and offer more choices to consumers. These sources also create unique costs and benefits, as well as new demands on our antiquated electric grid.

The best electric car for you: we've got it.

Since we launched Drive Green with Mass Energy and People’s Power & Light in November of 2016, a lot has changed in the electric vehicle market. At launch, we had four electric vehicles (EVs) from three manufacturers available through the program. Now, we’ve got seventeen vehicles from ten manufacturers, and the list is growing all the time! As the options increase, finding the best electric car for you might seem like it’s getting more overwhelming too. But don’t you worry! Here’s a quick who’s-who of the top electric cars available through our program right now.

The Unbearable Lightness of Energy Efficiency

In a national ranking for energy efficiency, Massachusetts is number 1 and Rhode Island is number 3. Neither is doing enough. Please hear me out.

AG Healey’s Right About Electricity Suppliers

I had the pleasure of being at Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Maura Healey’s press conference at which she released a report detailing how 500,000 residential consumers who chose competitive electricity suppliers have been ripped off and green-washed. 

Electric cars are getting easier to charge

The question “but where will I charge?” is one of the biggest sources of apprehension among potential electric vehicle (EV) owners. We at Mass Energy and People’s Power & Light think it doesn’t need to be. After reading this blog post, we really hope that you’ll come to agree that:

• For most of us, charging our electric car at home can be very easy.

• Today, there are already a lot of places to charge away from home – probably a lot more than most people think. And they’re easy to find.

• More public charging stations are being built every day and there are lots more coming in the next 3-5 years.

• You won’t need to charge as often as you think. Today’s all-electrics have such large ranges that you likely won’t need to charge every night, and even the plug-in hybrids available today have ranges that exceed what most of us drive in a day.

What's new with the Drive Green program

We launched Drive Green with Mass Energy and Drive Green with People’s Power & Light in November 2016 and have been rolling along merrily ever since. Here’s what’s new with our program and the world of electric vehicles (EVs) overall.