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

DPU approval for pipeline tax sought no more, but Spectra project still very much in the works

In light of SJC ruling, utilities withdraw petitions that would have allowed for pipeline tax.

This week Eversource and National Grid formally filed a motion to withdraw petitions seeking approval of long term gas capacity contracts related to the Access Northeast (ANE) Project by Spectra Energy. The hotly contested tax would have helped finance pipeline construction. This move came less than a week after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued its decision finding the unprecedented cost-recovery scheme proposed by the utilities, which also happen to hold substantial financial interests in ANE, violates the 1997 Restructuring Act.

Arrogance and Greed of the Pipeline Tax

On August 17, 2016, we were thrilled to learn that the Mass. Supreme Judicial Court ruled that taxing electricity ratepayers to finance a natural gas (read – fracked methane) pipeline was illegal according to the 1997 Electric Restructuring Act.  We saw the scheme, jointly proposed by Spectra, Eversource, and National Grid, and strongly backed by the Baker Administration and House Speaker Robert DeLeo, as being awful for consumers and the environment.  Spectra Energy is the pipeline project developer.  Eversource and National Grid are investor-owned regulated monopoly utilities, that combined have a 60% financial stake in Access Northeast.

Pipeline Tax Dead: State’s highest court rules in favor of ratepayers and the environment

Boston, MA – The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued a decision on Wednesday morning affirming what consumer and environmental advocates have maintained all along: the utility-proposed ‘pipeline tax’ violates Massachusetts law. The unprecedented scheme proposed by National Grid and Eversource and approved last fall by the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) would have allowed utilities to recover costs of long-term gas capacity contracts by applying an additional charge on consumers’ monthly electric bills.

Mass Save: New Energy Saving Incentives for Renters

Mass Energy is proud of our role in advocating with the Green Justice Coalition for the creation of Mass Save’s 2016 initiatives to better serve renters and moderate-income households. This blog post by Loie Hayes, Mass Energy’s resident energy efficiency expert, describes the new renter-specific Home Energy Assessments.

MA Legislature passes energy bill shortly before end of session deadline

Late Sunday (July 31) night the Massachusetts Legislature passed H.4568, paving the way for the country’s largest offshore wind procurement ever. We want to thank the nearly 200 members who reached out to members of the Energy Conference Committee urging them to act to make the bill as comprehensive as possible. Although the final version does not include all the provisions we wanted, it is a step forward for renewable energy in Massachusetts. Here’s what you need to know about what passed.

Poll shows strong opposition to consumer financing of gas pipelines

The People Over Pipelines march, which began on Thursday, July 14, culminated this morning in a rally at the State House. Nearly 200 people turned out in support of legislative action that would protect electric ratepayers from being saddled with costs from the proposed Spectra Energy Access Northeast project and others like it. At the same time that this rally was taking place, Mass Energy released the results of a survey of Massachusetts adults conducted by YouGov.com, an independent, bipartisan polling firm that conducts public opinion surveys worldwide.

The Natural Gas Pipeline Tax is Not Dead Yet. We Have Work to Do.

Last week, the Senate overwhelmingly passed S.2400: An act to promote energy diversity. Included in the bill was Amendment #1, a unanimously adopted prohibition of the proposed “pipeline tax.” Readers of this blog are aware that Mass Energy is strongly opposed to proposals by Eversource and National Grid to increase rates on Massachusetts electricity customers in order to finance Spectra’s Access Northeast $3 billion gas pipeline. We are thrilled that the State Senate has done its part to kill this bad idea, but the game is not over.

MA Senate energy bill released, Members expected to vote as early as Thursday, June 30

UPDATE AS OF JULY 1, 2016

Ma senate passes energy bill, including unanimous adoption of amendment prohibiting “pipeline tax”

As expected, the Massachusetts Senate took up S.2372, An act promoting energy diversity, on Thursday morning. With over 100 amendments to consider, debate on the bill ran late into the evening. But, when it was all said and done, Senate lawmakers unanimously passed a comprehensive energy bill that stands to bring a substantial amount of hydroelectricity and offshore wind into the region, incentivizes electric vehicles, addresses gas leaks, enhances energy efficiency, and protects ratepayers from paying for unnecessary fracked gas pipelines.

Updates on key ammendments listed in red below.

The bill now moves to conference committee where designees from the House and Senate will reconcile both versions before a final version is adopted and sent to the Governor to be signed.

 

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Late last Friday, lawmakers in Senate Ways and Means released S.2372 – An act to promote energy diversity. Similar to the House bill that passed recently, this Senate bill addresses the purchase of large amounts of hydroelectricity and offshore wind. However, S.2372 does even more to promote clean energy in the Commonwealth. Here is a quick breakdown.

House Omnibus Energy Bill Hits the Floor: Members expected to vote on Wednesday, June 8th

UPDATE: House passed its Energy Bill (H.4385) on Wednesday, June 8 by a vote of 154-1. The bill includes a procurement of 1,200MW each of offshore wind and hydroelectricity. It also includes a technical amendment that addresses the need to fix gas leaks. A total of 61 amendments to the bill were filed and nearly all, including those that Mass Energy supported, were not voted on because they were withdrawn or laid aside as beyond the scope of the bill. This includes an amendment that would have increased the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and an amendment that would prohibit the “pipeline tax” on electric customers to fund unnecessary gas infrastructure. 

The bill has made its way to the Senate where lawmakers are developing what we hope will be a more comprehensive energy bill. We would like to see the Senate version include the “pipeline tax” prohibition, an increase to the RPS, alongside the energy procurement and gas leak repair included in the House version.

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After months of speculation, the House’s “omnibus” energy bill is slated to be taken up for a vote today (Wednesday, June 8^th). H.4377 (An Act to promote energy diversity) directs utilities to procure a large amount of offshore wind and hydroelectricity.

Webinar Recording: “New Perspectives on RGGI and the Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act”

On June 2nd, our Executive Director, Larry Chretien, and Pat Knight (Synapse Energy Economics) spoke on a webinar about increasing RGGI reductions and the recent SJC ruling in favor of the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA). This webinar was presented as part of Synapse's Spring Webinar Series on trending topics in the electricity sector.