Senate passes omnibus energy bill
Boston — Senator Benjamin B. Downing (D – Pittsfield) has announced that the Massachusetts State Senate voted to support an omnibus energy bill to diversify the State’s energy portfolio by procuring additional clean energy resources to replace aging power plants that are going offline and move the Commonwealth closer to its emissions reduction goals under the Global Warming Solutions Act.
S.2372, An Act to promote energy diversity, requires electric distribution companies, in consultation with the Department of Energy Resources (DOER), to solicit long-term contracts for at least 2,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2027. The bill calls for successive, staggered solicitations to keep costs down through competition. Additionally distribution companies would be required to purchase a minimum of 12,450,000 megawatt-hours of clean energy from hydropower and other Class 1 resources such as onshore wind, solar, anaerobic digestion, and energy storage.
Further, the bill increases the percentage of Class 1 renewable energy that must be purchased by retail electric suppliers under the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard from an additional 1 percent annually to an additional 2 percent annually beginning in 2017, putting the state on track to reach an energy mix of 37 percent renewables by 2030. The bill also supports fuel cell and waste-to-energy technology by including them in the Alternative Portfolio Standard.
Massachusetts leads the nation in energy efficiency. The MassSave program offers free home energy audits provided through electric distribution companies, as well as rebates and discounts for making energy-saving upgrades. The Senate bill would require that homes in the Commonwealth have such an audit at some point in the five years prior to their sale and that energy ratings be disclosed at time of sale, making prospective buyers aware of energy consumption, costs, and emissions and ways to improve it. The bill further establishes a task force to develop recommendations for a next-generation energy efficiency program to be implemented at the expiration of the current three-year efficiency plans.
Investments in energy storage help to maximize the value of new clean energy generation and reduce costs to consumers during peak energy usage. To that end, the bill tasks DOER to consider setting appropriate targets for distribution companies to procure cost-effective energy storage systems by 2020.
The bill also prohibits the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) from approving contracts for pipeline capacity filed by electric companies, meaning electric ratepayers cannot be charged by their energy supplier to defray the costs of natural gas pipeline expansion.
Additional provisions of S. 2372 include:
- Directing DOER to study the need to modernize the electric grid with the goal of reducing demand, reducing energy costs to ratepayers, integrating distributed energy resources, reducing carbon emissions, and enhancing reliability and resiliency;
- Creating a small hydropower tariff program for hydropower facilities with 2 megawatts capacity or less. Distribution companies would pay the facility monthly for electricity provided to the grid, with an aggregate capacity of 50 megawatts;
- Clarifying the authority of the Attorney General’s Office of Ratepayer Advocacy to intervene in DPU proceedings and, in exercising such authority, retain experts and obtain information from companies subject to DPU’s jurisdiction;
- Requiring gas distribution companies to repair Grade 3 leaks identified as having a significant environmental impact when construction on a public way exposes such a leak, and directing DPU to investigate specific criteria for the identification of the environmental impact of gas leaks;
- Establishing a separate net metering cap of 50 megawatts for energy generated by anaerobic digesters; and
- Establishing an Oil Heat Energy Efficiency Fund into which funds are deposited and expended for providing financial incentives for residential and small business demand-side management programs that improve energy efficiency and reduce oil consumption for residential and commercial customers.
The Senate bill was offered as an amendment to the energy bill passed by the House of Representatives earlier this month. It will now be returned to the House, which may accept the Senate’s new draft or insist upon its own version and appoint a conference committee to work out the differences between the two bills.
–E.E.
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Andrea Harrington endorsed by local unions
Richmond — Andrea Harrington, a local attorney and small business owner running for State Senate for the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin & Hampden District soon to be vacated by Senator Ben Downing, has been endorsed by Western Massachusetts Carpenters Union Local 108 and SEIU Local 888. Harrington is a Democrat.
Tim Craw, president of Carpenters Local 108 said, “Andrea clearly understands what is at stake for all working men and women and their families. Andrea not only grew up in hard-working family, but she and her husband Tim are raising their children here and work very hard running a family-owned business in the Berkshires. Our region and this Senate district in particular needs a strong leader like Andrea representing us in the State Senate.”
Harrington said, “I am honored to have been endorsed by the Western Massachusetts Carpenters Union and SEIU Local 888. As someone who grew up in a working family in the Berkshires, I was taught that if you work hard and play by the rules, you should have access to great education, good career pathways, and limitless opportunity. I am running for State Senate to be a bold, progressive voice for Western Massachusetts, and I look forward to working with residents across the district on the issues that matter to us. I will be a tireless advocate for our communities as we work to combat the opioid epidemic, invest in public education, and develop comprehensive strategies to promote environmental sustainability and create jobs for our region.”
Harrington grew up in Richmond where she currently lives with her husband, Tim, and their two young sons. Harrington is an attorney and owns a small business in West Stockbridge. She has been actively involved in the region, serving as a member of her local affordable housing committee and school council, and as an advisory board member of regional nonprofit BerkShares, Inc. Harrington is a graduate of Taconic High School in Pittsfield, the University of Washington, and the American University Washington College of Law.
–E.E.
