Bring Andover Community Power to Fruition
We need to pressure the DPU to approve municipal aggregation plans
Andover’s application for a municipal aggregation agreement is still languishing in the Department of Public Utilities (DPU). We need to keep pressure on the DPU to bring Andover Community Power to our homes, reduce our electric bills and green our electric supply.
More than 31 communities in Massachusetts are awaiting the approval of their municipal aggregation applications. Andover’s has been at the DPU since July of 2021!
Delays don’t exist in neighboring states
In New Hampshire, state law requires regulators to disapprove a plan with 60 days or it becomes law. In Rhode Island, there is no deadline, and according to Patrick Roche of Good Energy, their last couple of plans were approved in about two months. If you have a Boston Globe subscription you can read their article, These communities want to lower residents’ electric bills— and carbon emissions. Here’s what’s stopping them, by Sabrina Shankman October 16, 2022.
In her letter responding to the article, Mary Pritchard asked, “Why the slow-motion review process? Is it possible that the DPU is essentially blocking approval due to pressure from the big utilities and the fossil-fuel industry?”
What you can do
Please contact Senator Finegold’s office to let him know that getting Andover Community Power through the DPU is important to you. Let your network in other municipalities know that they too can contact their state legislators to help speed up passing all municipal aggregation plans as we face a winter of extremely high electricity rates. Check out our DPU Complaint Toolkit. Check out the letter Mary Pritchard wrote to the Boston Globe. Write your own letter.
Mary Pritchard’s letter to the Globe
Communities run into a maddening lag from DPU in green energy bids
Delays in OK’ing energy pacts raise questions about agency’s priorities
Thank you for Sabrina Shankman’s front-page coverage of the unconscionable situation with the state Department of Public Utilities’ delays to approve more than 31 communities’ municipal aggregation applications ("Seeing red over bids for green energy” Oct. 17).
Andover is yet another community whose community choice aggregation application has been held up by the DPU, for 16 months. Why the slow-motion review process? Is it possible that the DPU is essentially blocking approval due to pressure from the big utilities and the fossil-fuel industry?
If New Hampshire and Rhode Island are able to review and approve their municipal aggregation applications in under 60 days, why is the MA agency unable to do the same?
The Globe should investigate this horrendous delay and so should the state auditor and state attorney general. These programs can save residents money on their electric bills or allow residents to source their electricity from more renewable sources. Starting Nov. 1, Andover residents and businesses face huge rate hikes through National Grid.
Hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents are affected in communities whose energy aggregation applications are languishing at the DPU.
Mary Pritchard
Andover
