Renewable Energy Procurement Bill Spurs Debate
A month after the Patrick administration announced it had helped engineer a merger deal under which NStar will purchase more than quarter of Cape Wind energy, labor and environmental groups urged lawmakers to reject a Republican-led effort to force power companies to bid competitively for long-term renewable energy contracts.
While some business advocates and lawmakers said competitive bidding would help reduce the cost of electricity for ratepayers, opponents said the bill filed by House Minority Leader Brad Jones and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr would drive clean energy sector jobs out of Massachusetts.
"Lowest cost comes with a high price. Nothing is more costly than being without a job and this legislation would lead to more out-of-state energy, which creates fewer in-state jobs. We believe in an all-of-the-above energy policy," said Tim Sullivan, legislative director of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, who called the bill a "one-of-the-above policy. We all want lower utility bills, but who cares how low your bill is if you have no job and no paycheck to pay any bills."
The Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy held a hearing Thursday on Jones's bill (H 3767) that would require power companies to routinely solicit bids for renewable energy contracts to satisfy renewable energy requirements specified by the Green Communities Act.
Power distributors would be directed to accept the lowest-cost proposal.
Looking For Common Ground
Throughout the hearing, the co-chairmen of the committee - Rep. John Keenan, D-Salem, and Sen. Benjamin Downing, D-Pittsfield - appeared to be looking for common ground.
"Doesn't it seem reasonable that the state at least find out if there's another potential bidder?" Keenan asked, also assuring opponents that it would be unlikely a final bill would apply retroactively, as currently written.
Downing, who is working on an energy cost containment bill for the Senate, also asked several testifiers whether a competitive bidding process could be devised that takes into account factors like job creation.
"Utilities should retain their discretion in how they obtain their power," said Dennis Duffy of Cape Wind Associates, who argued that a competitive bidding standard for renewable energy based on least net cost would "send green jobs out of state."
While opponents said the bill would favor large, out-of-state wind and hydro projects, requiring investments in transmission lines and discouraging spending on new technologies, supporters said the high cost of electricity in Massachusetts, exacerbated by costly renewable contracts, was having a negative impact on job growth in manufacturing and other sectors.
Rep. Randy Hunt, R-Sandwich, said he worried the state was going too far to promote high-tech, clean energy jobs at the expense of more traditional manufacturing jobs. "The middle class and lower middle class are not going to have the jobs that have been staples for decades and decades," Hunt said.
Associated Industries of Massachusetts said high commercial electricity costs for Bay State businesses that pay 50 percent higher rates than the national average was having a chilling effect on business growth.
"The negative impact that these high rates are having on our economy is accelerating as the economy falters and even healthy companies look outside of Massachusetts to trim operating expenses," said Robert Rio, senior vice president for government affairs at A.I.M., in written testimony.
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