It’s time for outrage in business community
DPU ignores concerns of commercial, industrial firms
These organizations collectively represent a majority of all C&I customers in the Commonwealth. They have energy expertise themselves, and they retain outside counsel and consultants with extensive expertise. Yet, when their views are opposed by the utilities, the attorney general’s office, or the Department of Energy Resources, those views are rejected out of hand as if these entities somehow know better how utility proposals impact customers and what is happening in the retail competitive market. The situation is not new to the current DPU; it has persisted for years.The most recent example is the DPU’s order concerning proposed demand-reduction demonstration projects from Eversource (Docket 16-178). Filed over a year ago but only approved recently, the proposal was half-baked and had very little factual support or analysis behind what the company was going to do with the $20 million requested to be spent over an 18-month period and recovered only from C&I customers. The company witness was ill-prepared. He couldn’t answer most of the questions put to him and the plan for spending C&I customer money was vague at best. Equally important, the legal standing for filing was questionable and the utility was unclear on exactly what basis they could even file the request under the statutes, rules, and regulations. They ended up punting on a vague explanation and the DPU embraced it. The proposal was approved and a new legal standard was created by the DPU that essentially gives the utilities a blank check to do what they want as long as they call it a “demonstration project.”
It’s time for the business community to be outraged—they should not take it anymore. Clearly, they are not being heard. Massachusetts already has among the highest electricity costs in the country. These costs contribute to the high cost of healthcare, manufacturing, and education in our state as well as drive out industry—all of which has a direct impact on jobs. And it’s not just about costs.
What the DPU is letting Eversource “demonstrate” is an infringement on the competitive market for these services.
We argue that the DPU should first let the market deliver these products and services rather than have customers subsidize the utilities’ exploration of business opportunities for themselves. When will the DPU start to connect the dots and listen?
Cynthia Arcate is the president and CEO of PowerOptions, an energy-buying consortium of nonprofits and government entities in Massachusetts. This article is reprinted from the PowerOptions website with permission.
No comments:
Post a Comment