National Grid, the multinational corporation with a virtual monopoly on our utility system, is doing quite well. Last year, the company reported profits — not revenue, profits — of $4.59 billion, a 13 percent increase for the year. Given these enormous sums, it is no wonder National Grid’s proposal to increase electricity rates by 53 percent is drawing strong opposition. It should be.
It’s time to start putting the needs of everyday Rhode Islanders over corporate interests. That means questioning and fighting back against this rate hike. And it also means rejecting attempts by lobbyists to use this situation to spin fossil fuel dependency as a good choice for our state.
Electricity prices are based on yesterday’s predictions. ISO-New England, the group that manages our region’s energy market, holds auctions three years in advance to make sure we have the power supply we need. The energy we secure today will not be used until 2020. The energy we are paying for now was purchased in 2014. That year, they predicted a deficit, so today’s prices are higher.
But the supply shortages predicted in 2014 have been resolved. Capacity has been expanded, in large part because of increased energy efficiency and renewable energy growth. In every auction since 2014, ISO-New England has secured more than enough energy without counting a single megawatt from the power plant proposed in Burrillville.
This natural gas and diesel plant, which has been strongly opposed by impacted local communities, leading environmental organizations, and the vast majority of Rhode Island’s cities and towns, is simply not necessary to supply our region’s energy needs. If someone says National Grid’s rate hike proposal is proof that we need more fossil fuels in Rhode Island, he or she either doesn’t understand our electric system or is lying. It is time for our political leaders to reject dirty energy dependency, and start getting serious about investing in an independent energy future.
Rhode Island doesn’t have coal, oil or natural gas. We have sun and wind. We have a nearly bottomless well of energy inefficiency that can be addressed for savings, emissions reductions and jobs. Developing these resources will break our dependence on big energy and help us grow our own clean energy industry — rather than send so much money out of state.
The truth is, our state will never be resilient if we continue to increase our dependency on natural gas. Being too dependent on a single, polluting fuel is not good for our health, our air, or our climate, but it is also tough on our wallet, making us vulnerable to volatile commodity swings.
Natural gas prices may be low now, but they will not be low forever, and all of us — business owners, working families, the elderly — will pay the price if we put all our eggs into one basket, particularly one owned by outside interests that we have no control over.
If you want to send a message to National Grid, you can attend the Public Utilities Commission’s rate hike hearing on Tuesday, Aug. 22nd at 9:30 a.m. at 89 Jefferson Blvd., in Warwick, and make your voice heard!
—Aaron Regunberg is a Democratic state representative from Providence.