Governors’ energy conference yields more talk
After a summit of the five New England governors on Thursday in Hartford, they all agreed to further collaborate on the region’s energy issues but did not commit to any infrastructure projects or policy changes.
“Together and respecting the bounds of individual state laws, we plan to continue to work to seek out economically beneficial infrastructure solutions to New England’s power system challenges,” the governors of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, and Vermont said in the joint statement.
The summit came after a morning conference organized by Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy where regional power grid administrator ISO New England warned the six states that they are becoming increasingly reliant on natural gas for both electricity and heating, while the pipelines supplying natural gas fuel to the region are becoming increasingly constrained, which causes wholesale power prices to rise.
Finding a solution to energy infrastructure issues has been difficult in New England because any project must cross state lines and each state has different priorities. New Hampshire, for example, has resisted an electric transmission line that would bring hydro power from Canada to New England, and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker previously has opposed a natural gas pipeline expansion proposal that would help bring more of the fuel to northern New England.
While the five governors all agreed Thursday to work together on these issues, they also said each had their own different priorities in order to serve their constituents. Maine Gov. Paul LePage, for example, emphasized low-cost electricity above all else.
“We are all individual governments,” LePage said.
Funding the individual energy projects remained an issue as well. The possibility of imposing fees on ratepayers remains on the table, Malloy said, although the region does intend to ask the federal government for help resolve the energy challenges as well.
The governors plan on having a telephone conference again in June to discuss energy issues and then meet again in person in September.
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