Clinic Files Comment Letter in Massachusetts Department of Public Utility Investigation

via Emmett Environmental Law & Policy Clinic blog
by Jacqueline Calahong

In June 2021, the Clinic filed a comment letter on behalf of a group of Massachusetts municipalities and regional planning associations in the Department of Public Utility’s investigation regarding the role of local gas distribution companies in helping the Commonwealth achieve its 2050 net zero climate goal, which includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 85%.  Achieving these targets will require reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the use of natural gas as a heating and cooling source in buildings.  The letter highlights the critical role that municipalities must play in planning for an orderly transition to decarbonize the gas and building sectors. The letter requests that the Department of Public Utilities and the gas companies think about cities and towns as partners and recommends several other framing principles to support municipal greenhouse gas mitigation goals.

The Clinic’s work in the DPU 20-80 proceeding is part of its larger portfolio of projects that support and propose strategies for transitioning to a carbon free energy system.

Read the Clinic’s letter:  Comments on D.P.U. 20-80, Investigation by the Department of Public Utilities on its Own Motion into the Role of Gas Local Distribution Companies as the Commonwealth Achieves its Target 2050 Climate Goals, and the supplement to the Clinic’s letter.