Recently, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) announced the delay of two key regulations that will clean up dangerous air pollution from medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Though the delays are not full rollbacks, they come after heavy industry lobbying, and it’s crucial to defend these important standards at public hearings on Monday, December 9, or in writing by 5:00 pm on Thursday, December 19, 2024.
On October 31st, the Boston Globe and other media outlets reported that most natural gas (methane) customers in Massachusetts are going to experience a big increase in the winter-time rates (November through May). Eversource was approved by state regulators for rate increases of 25% to 30%, while National Grid got approved to hike its rate by 11% to 13%.
On November 14th the House and Senate passed Massachusetts’ latest climate law which is a compromise of bills passed by the two chambers earlier in the year. We are happy to write that, while their compromise did not contain everything we were pushing for, it makes great strides on a wide range of issues from supporting EV charging to reforming the state’s gas utility laws.
Last week's national election was horrible for federal energy and climate policy. Green Energy Consumers Alliance is not chartered to engage in elections, but we are allowed to talk policy. So, we will.
In our work, we pay close attention to the agencies regulating the electric and gas utilities. In Rhode Island, that’s the Public Utilities Commission (PUC); in Massachusetts, that’s the Department of Public Utilities (DPU).
Both commissions have always had a big job – regulating what economists call "natural monopolies." "Natural" because it doesn’t make sense to have more than one company in a community distributing electricity or gas. How many poles and pipes do we really want?However, the role of utility regulators takes on a whole new importance when we realize that we must phase out fossil fuels and electrify buildings and transportation. If utility regulation was ever easy, it’s not anymore.
This fall, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is hosting a series of Open Houses where you can learn more about the state’s plan to build fast charging stations with federal funding – and share your thoughts with MassDOT.
If you are reading this, you probably know that the Massachusetts legislature failed to produce a climate bill by the 2023/2024 session’s deadline of July 31. They even suspended their rules and went into August 1st but to no avail. The clock ran out, but it’s worth taking some time to understand how that happened and what it means for the near future.
On July 17th, the Mass. House of Representatives passed a climate bill. This sets the stage for reconciliation with the bill passed by the State Senate on June 25th. This must happen before the legislative session ends on July 31.
At Green Energy Consumers Alliance, we’re all about that “think globally, act locally” thing. So it hurts to report that our beloved states, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, have carbon emissions going up, not down as their laws and the planet require. Unfortunately, this is true at a global and national level as well. These sobering facts are a renewed call to action for all of us.
On Tuesday, June 25, the Mass. State Senate passed, by a vote of 38-2, An Act Upgrading the Grid and Protecting Consumers. We appreciate the Senate’s good work. They’re doing the right thing for consumers by banning retail electricity suppliers. They’re supporting EV adoption. And they are authorizing the Department of Public Utilities to regulate gas utilities in alignment with our climate mandates.
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