A coalition of Massachusetts climate activist groups sent a letter to government officials on March 18, in response to high utility costs concerning energy bills, though several MA green energy projects have been driving up utility costs in the area for years.
Six environmental activist organizations, including the Sierra Club and HEETlabs, sent the letter to Democratic Gov. Maura Healey and Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. The letter included calls for provisions to lower energy bills.
Massachusetts has historically supported several expensive green energy projects that have been found to raise utility costs, including offshore wind farms like Vineyard Wind and the abandoned Cape Wind project. The Bay State plans to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, a goal also championed by the Biden administration to the tune of $3 trillion.
“The sharp spikes in heating bills throughout the Commonwealth in January and February have been a financial shock and burden to customers,” the letter opens. “This spike has caused real pain and has been seized upon by climate deniers and opponents of clean energy.”
Letter on Gas Price Spikes to Maura Healey by Boston 25 Desk
“In 2023 alone, Massachusetts gas customers were charged $160 million to hook up additional buildings to the gas system, an average cost of nearly $10,000 per new customer for infrastructure that only serves those customers,” the letter continues.
The letter demands quicker action on lowering utility bills, outlining the first step as reducing infrastructure spending unless it is “financially appropriate.”
The document also claims that local “gas companies are charging ratepayers for their lobbying, advertising, and other expenses,” through a “loophole.” It also states that under the “reform the obligation to serve” request that “the 2024 climate law indicated that gas utilities can no longer be compelled to serve customers where alternatives to distributed gas are available.”
The letter included steps to lower energy bills, which prompted critics to point to Sierra Club’s expensive energy policy goals. Sierra Club advocates for 100% clean energy by 2050, according to its website. The Institute for Energy Research writes that it would cost trillions of dollars to enact this goal, citing studies from both Wood Mackenzie and American Action Forum, which estimate that this policy, shared with the Green New Deal, is unrealistic and expensive.
“It’s not fast enough to help with energy burden,” Vick Mohanka, the chapter director for Sierra Club’s Massachusetts chapter, told Boston 25 News. “It’s 100% on our bills and we’re paying more profits on this than other states,” she said.
The chapter dubs its state as “a leader” when it comes to “tackling climate change.” The group’s website reads that “Massachusetts has been rated #1 among all states for energy efficiency four years in a row,” and that the state was “one of the first states to pass aggressive climate change goals.”
Sierra Club Massachusetts did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
“Each year, gas utilities spend more than $1 billion to replace aging methane gas pipelines in Massachusetts, costs that are increasingly passed onto consumers in the form of rising delivery rates, meaning some residents are stuck with a $400+ bill even before they use any gas,” a spokesperson for HEETlabs wrote to the DCNF. “Governor Healey and the Massachusetts State Legislature can lower utility costs consumers by reining in this utility spending.”
The spokesperson also pointed to research from Our World in Data, E & E News, Bloomberg, IRENA, Trading Economics and Nuveen that might indicate that renewable energy is a “safe and sustainable” supply of energy.
A spokesperson for Healey’s office told Boston 25 News that “energy costs are too high in Massachusetts and Governor Healey is focused on bringing them down.”
“Governor Healey has already taken action to lower people’s bills by $220 million in March and April, and her plan would save nearly $6 billion for electric and gas customers over the next five years,” they continued. “She also agrees that more needs to be done. Governor Healey will be filing legislation in the coming weeks to lower costs further, and she appreciates everyone’s ideas and advocacy on this important issue.”
The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and Healey’s office did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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