Guest Blog: With Rising Electric Prices, Consumer Caution Urged

By Laura Spark, Guest Blogger

Heating Oil Price Trends: This Winter Is Much Better For Consumers

Heating oil prices are surprising everyone, including the major oil producers such as the Saudis and the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Natural Gas Pipeline Leaks: Building a Bigger System Doesn’t Fix the Problem

Beneath our feet is a vast network of natural gas distribution infrastructure. The aging pipes in Rhode Island and Massachusetts are among some of the oldest in the region and the nation, which means they are also some of the most leak-prone. We’ve known for some time that the methane (CH₄) emitted through natural gas pipeline leaks contributes significantly to global warming. This is because methane is about 35 times more potent than carbon dioxide (C0_2), trapping a lot more heat in the atmosphere. However, a recent study reveals that natural gas distribution systems are leaking far more methane than previously estimated.

This revelation comes at a time when utility executives and several public officials continue to push for new pipelines, paid for by New England electricity ratepayers, to bring more natural gas into the region to burn in power plants[1]. So, when public officials call for more natural gas, are they going to take commensurate counter measures to ensure that we can get on track to reducing emissions as called for in the Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) and the Resilient Rhode Island Act (RRA): 80% by 2050?

Wind Blown: A Discussion of Cape Wind

Last week, we learned that National Grid and NSTAR decided to withdraw their commitment to purchase electricity from the Cape Wind project.  Many of us were looking forward to seeing Cape Wind become the first offshore wind project in the United States. Now that seems unlikely. Without the contracts with NSTAR and National Grid, Cape Wind will find it extremely difficult to get financing.

To Our Green Power Members: Mass Energy’s Take on Electricity Rate Increases

*If you live in Rhode Island read the People's Power & Light version of this article here.

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You’ve been good enough to voluntarily sign up for one of Mass Energy’s green power products, New England Wind or New England GreenStart (if not, click here to learn how). By now, you have probably read or heard that electricity rates for customers of National Grid, NSTAR, and Western Mass Electric are all taking a big jump this winter. These rates will be in effect until the spring. At that point, we expect the rates to come back down. Below is some information on the electricity rate increases and Mass Energy’s response. 

The utilities buy electricity according to rules set by the Department of Public Utilities (DPU). Because this winter’s spike is so significant, the DPU has asked stakeholders for ideas on how to mitigate the rate increase and how to minimize its effects on consumers. Here’s what we had to say...

Mass Energy advocates for policies that are pro-consumer and pro-environment.

The Circle of Life: NSTAR Green Terminated, But Green Power Lives On

Acting on the recommendations of the Department of Energy Resources and Attorney General, on December 16^th, the...

I Want to Buy an Electric Vehicle Part 7: Two More Reasons I Love My Volt

Reason #1:

The Boston Globe recently had a good story about how cold weather reduces tire pressure. And low tire pressure reduces gas mileage. Or, in the case of my Volt, wind mileage.

Taking Another Step On the Global Warming Solutions Act

In 2008, Governor Patrick signed the Green Communities Act (GCA) and the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA). These laws propelled Massachusetts into the forefront on clean energy. The GWSA and its corresponding Clean Energy and Climate Plan mandate that the Commonwealth reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 80 percent by 2050, with an interim goal of 25 percent by 2020. These are ambitious targets, to be sure. In fact they are among the best in the nation, which is why the GWSA also says that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is required to write regulations that would, “establish a desired level of declining annual aggregate emission limits for sources or categories of sources that emit greenhouse gases.”

The regulations were supposed to have been adopted by January 2012 to take effect in January 2013, but DEP has not written those regulations yet. So Mass Energy has joined with the Conservation Law Foundation and others in filing a legal complaint in Superior Court, asking the court to enforce the law and require DEP to write the necessary regulations. 

I Want to Buy an Electric Vehicle Part 6: Happy With My Chevy Volt After Two Months

Readers of this blog know that my family bought a 2015 Chevy Volt on August 21, 2014.  I’m happy to report that two months later, we are thrilled with the car.  After doing a lot of research on the Volt, Prius Plug-In and Nissan Leaf, we chose the Volt and it is exceeding our high expectations.

Background:  The Volt is a plug-in hybrid.  When the battery is fully charged, my Volt has a range of about 40 miles (I’ve gone 47), more than its 38 mile EPA rating.   If I deplete the battery, the car runs on gasoline (actually gasoline fuels a generator that runs the motor on electricity).

Some Math Showing Our Huge Under-Investment in Energy Efficiency

There are some funny rules in the energy game. In both Massachusetts and Rhode Island, energy efficiency is required to cost LESS than natural gas or electricity. But natural gas and electricity are allowed to cost more than energy efficiency. There’s no level playing field. So how does that play out?