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

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Should Data Centers Receive a Sales Tax Exemption?

Recently, data centers have rapidly become a topic that advocates and policymakers need to reckon with in the clean energy space. Mostly, we’ve seen...

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Energy policy & advocacy

Energy policy & advocacy Massachusetts Climate change

Should Data Centers Receive a Sales Tax Exemption?

Recently, data centers have rapidly become a topic that advocates and policymakers need to reckon with in the clean energy space. Mostly, we’ve seen the data center discussion take place in other parts of the country, where electricity prices are lower and it’s more attractive for data center developers to build. But recently, the discussion arrived in Massachusetts with a discussion of data centers and sales tax exemptions. If you’re a Massachusetts resident, you have an opportunity to make your voice heard until August 25, 2025. 

Picture of Larry Chretien Larry Chretien
Energy policy & advocacy Massachusetts Heating Phasing out fossil fuels

Why We Should Axe The Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard

Massachusetts has some great, and sometimes nation-leading, energy programs; the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (APS) is not one of them. That’s why we are excited that Governor Healey has proposed phasing out the APS by 2028 as part of H.4144, An Act relative to energy affordability, independence and innovation, which she filed back in May.

Picture of Carrie Katan Carrie Katan
Energy policy & advocacy Massachusetts Electricity and the grid Energy efficiency Heating Climate change

Lower Electricity Rates for Heat Pumps? Yes, please!

Widespread adoption of heat pumps is essential to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, and the important interim greenhouse gas reduction goals by 2030. However, for many households, high electricity costs remain a barrier to making the switch. To address this, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has ordered the state’s three investor-owned utilities (IOU’s - Unitil, National Grid, and Eversource) to introduce seasonal heat pump rates, offering discounted electricity for heat pump users during the winter months, a concept Maine has already implemented.

Picture of Amanda Barker Amanda Barker
Energy policy & advocacy Electricity and the grid Energy efficiency

Midsummer Observations About Shaving the Peak

As part of our Shave the Peak program, we’ve been aggregating data released by ISO-New England, the non-profit Independent System Operator with a responsibility to maintain reliable electricity to the six New England states. Every day, we track various stats, including when and what the peak demand was, when and what the most expensive price of electricity was, how high CO2 emissions reached, what the fuel mix looks like, etc.

Picture of Maya Mastro Maya Mastro
Energy policy & advocacy Electric vehicles/Transportation Rhode Island Action Alert

Rhode Island: Say “No” to Electric Vehicle Registration Fees

Calling all Rhode Islanders! The House budget was released last Tuesday and included electric vehicle (EV) registration fees (p. 6) for battery electric, plug-in hybrid, and hybrid electric vehicles. While the bill has been passed by the House and heads to the Senate floor for a vote on Friday, we encourage you to contact your legislators and let them know why you oppose these fees or that you are concerned with how they will impact you. We will walk you through the outreach steps later in this blog.

Picture of Tina Munter Tina Munter
Energy policy & advocacy Rhode Island Climate change

Rhode Island Needs the Building Decarbonization Act

Calling all Rhode Islanders! We are nearing the end of our legislative session, and we are still pushing for the Building Decarbonization Act (H5493/S91) to be voted out of committee and passed by the House and Senate. Read on to learn why this bill is critical for Rhode Island, and if you’re interested in supporting the bill, check out this blog post for more directions.

Picture of Tina Munter Tina Munter
Energy policy & advocacy Electricity and the grid

Which Third-Party Electric Suppliers Overcharged Massachusetts Consumers the Most?

In Massachusetts, third-party electric suppliers, also called “competitive suppliers”, are allowed to sell electricity directly to residential customers of Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil (although the cost of delivering the power is always charged by the local utility). While the idea behind allowing these companies to operate was that they would increase competition and bring down electric prices, this is not how things have worked in practice.

Picture of Carrie Katan Carrie Katan
Energy policy & advocacy Massachusetts Electric vehicles/Transportation Rhode Island Climate change

Bad News for Electric Cars

For the past several weeks, we’ve been working hard on a campaign to protect key regulations, called Advanced Clean Cars II (ACCII), which would have steadily increased the supply of electric vehicles (EVs) available to drivers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, such that 100% of new car sales would have to be electric by 2035. These regulations were key to both Massachusetts’ and Rhode Island’s climate plans. Now, they’re off the table. 

Picture of Anna Vanderspek Anna Vanderspek
Renewable energy Energy policy & advocacy Climate change Phasing out fossil fuels

Facing Clean Energy Opposition with Perseverance & Solidarity

For those of us working on the clean energy transition, professionally or as volunteers, the last few months have been awful in many ways. We’re seeing policies change for the worse, funding cuts, and layoffs. The planetary consequences are real, but there’s also an enormous human impact on all the people who have made working on the transition either their vocation or avocation. 

Picture of Larry Chretien Larry Chretien