A Massachusetts state legislator whose district includes the soon-to-be shuttered Brayton Point generating plant has filed legislation that would revamp the state’s energy landscape.
The bill was proposed by Rep. Patricia Haddad, a Democrat and an ally of Massachusetts Speaker Robert DeLeo.
The sweeping bill would require the state’s utilities to enter into long-term contracts with offshore wind developers. It also seeks to clear obstacles to gas pipeline and electric transmission construction by, among other methods, creating a siting board to more easily locate energy infrastructure.
It proposes a tax that would fund natural gas infrastructure, attempting to revive a proposal last year by the six New England governors that failed to gain traction. Environmental groups told The Boston Globe last week they object to the use of public subsidies for pipeline expansions and would like to see incentives for energy efficiency and storage.
It also encourages utilities to submit proposals for competitively bid transmission lines to deliver Canadian hydropower. Another proposal for that purpose bogged down in the legislature last year.
It would make conversion from coal-fired power plants to natural gas easier as well, which could aid efforts to repower the 1,517-MW Brayton Point plant. Brayton Point, the largest taxpayer in Haddad’s hometown of Somerset, is scheduled to close in mid-2017.
Massachusetts has the eighth-highest residential electric rates of any state, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Each of the other New England states also ranks in the top 10.
Former Gov. Deval Patrick released a study last month that said the state needed significant investment in natural gas pipeline capacity to preserve electric system reliability. (See Gas Price Spikes Likely Through 2019, Study Says.)
ISO-NE also chimed in recently saying that grid reliability is threatened by the region’s inadequate pipeline capacity, which is unable to fully supply heating and power generation during the winter. (See ISO-NE CEO: Despite Mild Winter, Region Still Needs Infrastructure.)