Writing for WBUR’s Cognoscenti newsletter, reporter Miriam Wasser outlines the key goals set by the state’s Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. Number one on her list? Bring down energy prices.
How?
- Eliminating or reducing several charges on utility bills
- Making it easier to bring new sources of energy online
- Changing how some energy programs and infrastructure are financed
- Reforming the competitive supply industry
- Allowing the state to invest in new nuclear technology
“Tepper said she hears a lot of people opining about why energy costs have skyrocketed in Massachusetts over the last year and a half. The answer is complicated, she said, but one of the biggest reasons is that utilities are spending a lot of money on infrastructure,” Wasser writes. “Massachusetts has an old electric grid that needs repairs and upgrades, along with new substations, transformers and power lines to accommodate projected demand growth. On the gas side, our aging underground pipeline system is notoriously leaky, and utilities have been incentivized to fix the problem. Instead of repairing pipes, however, they’ve often opted for more costly replacements, leaving ratepayers to pick up the bill.”
Read the article in full.