TWO NEW COMMISSIONERS were appointed on Wednesday to the state Department of Public Utilities, one a West Virginia University law professor who wrote a book last year critical of that state’s allegiance to coal, and the other a vice president of the Conservation Law Foundation. The two new faces – James Van Nostrand and Staci […]
Department of Public Utilities
Posted inOpinion
DPU is too cozy with utilities it regulates
MASSACHUSETTS SAW an important milestone earlier this year with the passage of the Next Generation Roadmap bill, a much-needed update to the state’s evolving response to the climate crisis. The bill was passed by overwhelming margins in the House and Senate and signed into law by the governor (after vetoing it twice). That the bill […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Lawmakers hike assessment on utilities 50%
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THOUGH LAWMAKER LEFT a handful of proposed taxes on the cutting room floor when they compromised on a budget, the fiscal year 2020 spending plan being reviewed by Gov. Charlie Baker includes a 50 percent increase in the annual assessment imposed upon gas and electric utility companies. The assessment of a […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Lawmakers revive bill to pressure National Grid
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE HOUSE APPEARS ready to begin ratcheting up the pressure on National Grid to end its lockout of more 1,250 union gas workers, reviving a three-month-old bill that would force the utility to extend health benefits to the locked out employees and deny the company any rate increases or public money […]