Issue Position: Clean Energy Economy

Issue Position

Maura Healey's Plan for a Clean Energy Economy

The Commonwealth and the region are facing tremendous energy challenges. Increased reliance on natural gas has exposed consumers to greater price volatility and raised reliability concerns for the electric system, particularly during the cold winter months. As we move away from fossil fuels in order to reduce greenhouse gases, it is important for us to think in terms of a diversified energy strategy.

The next Attorney General must lead on both energy policy and environmental protection. In the era of climate change, advancing clean energy and energy efficiency is critical to safeguarding the environment and will grow the economy. I believe that the Attorney General's ratepayer advocacy and environmental protection mandates go hand in hand. I will act as a 21st century ratepayer advocate, seeking savings for consumers by controlling energy costs, reducing energy use, reducing our reliance on resources from outside New England, and diversifying our fuel supply. I will listen to all sectors -- residential, commercial, and industrial -- and strive for balanced solutions.

As I did when I oversaw the Attorney General's Environmental Protection Division, I will also ensure that Massachusetts continues to stand with the EPA on regulating greenhouse gases and toxic emissions from power plants and reducing cross-state air pollution through enforcement of the "good neighbor rule."

My energy priorities are:

Promoting renewable energy and fuel diversification
Modernizing the grid
Supporting energy efficiency
Acting as a 21st century ratepayer advocate
Renewable Energy and Fuel Diversification

New England is almost completely reliant on external sources of energy and highly dependent on natural gas. As we have seen in recent winters, increasing reliance on natural gas for home heating and electricity generation can lead to sharp natural gas and electricity price spikes.

While natural gas will remain an important part of the fuel mix, we need to grow indigenous renewable energy supplies and use natural gas more efficiently. Diversifying our energy sources by incorporating additional renewables, including solar, wind, and environmentally responsible hydropower, will be good for jobs and the economy, and it will also help us guard against volatile energy markets and ensure long-term reliability for consumers. We need adequate incentives for the development of those resources and cost-effective means to meet our energy needs. As Attorney General, I will:

Partner with clean energy and environmental allies to advance the Commonwealth's clean energy future.
Support growth of the clean energy sector as a key driver of Massachusetts' economy. There are currently nearly 80,000 people working in Massachusetts clean energy firms. The sector saw an 11.8% employment growth rate between 2012 and 2013.
Gather data on our energy and infrastructure needs, in order to determine the best way to satisfy those needs while keeping costs down for consumers.
Grid Modernization

Grid modernization will enable us to fully realize the promises of clean energy and clean technology. As the state with the largest energy load in the region, Massachusetts needs to develop a Smart Grid that meets the needs of 21st century energy usage, enhances reliability, and guards against prolonged outages, which have increased with more climate-driven extreme weather events. This is a public safety issue as much as an environmental or economic one. A grid that integrates renewables like wind and solar will lower emissions, improve air quality, allow for greater fuel diversification, and potentially help mitigate the effects of outages after a weather event. A more modern, resilient grid will also help us avoid the costs associated with emergency repairs and increase customer control over energy usage. As Attorney General, I will:

Ensure that we catch up with the pace of clean energy advancement while containing costs to consumers.
Lead on new approaches to utility cost recovery for grid modernization.
Make the case alongside the business community for the urgent need to modernize our grid infrastructure, including exploring options like microgrids.
Engage the energy sector, utility companies, and partners in government on the need for grid modernization as a boon to ratepayers.
Energy Efficiency

As Attorney General, I will work to ensure that Massachusetts maintains its nationwide prominence in achieving energy efficiency and that we continue to push the envelope of innovation. We must do more with our dollars spent, allocate costs in a fair and reasonable manner, and optimize savings for consumers. We need to implement creative financing solutions for homeowners and small businesses and facilitate access to private venture funding. We must also address the problem of leaking and inadequate natural gas pipelines in the Commonwealth, which reduce the efficiency of the system, pose a threat to public safety and the environment, and result in significant costs to consumers. As Attorney General, I will:

Use my seat on the Energy Efficiency Advisory Board to ensure that Massachusetts achieves the greatest level of efficiency possible with all dollars invested.
Lead discussions on effective financing models for energy efficiency improvements, how to engage the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors, and how to attract private capital.
Support the implementation of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) and other creative financing mechanisms to help homeowners and businesses make energy efficiency improvements.
Advocate for sustainable public transportation investments throughout the Commonwealth.
21st Century Ratepayer Advocate

Smart environmental and energy policy go hand in hand, and both serve to protect consumers and promote economic development in the Commonwealth. For that reason, during my time at the Attorney General's Office, I established greater coordination between the Environmental Protection Division and the Energy & Telecommunications Division in order to broaden and more effectively further the goals of each Division. For the same reason, I believe that ratepayer advocacy should focus not only on costs but also on price stability, energy security, reliability, mitigating climate impacts, environmental protection, and developing a flexible, modern, resilient and consumer-focused grid. As Attorney General, I will:

Serve as a 21st century ratepayer advocate by fighting for: (1) delivery of an effective, modern grid by our utility companies; (2) increased reliability of service, even during strong storms; (3) savings to ratepayers through improved efficiency and increased fuel diversity; and (4) continued environmental leadership by Massachusetts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Enforce the requirement of the Global Warming Solutions Act that state agencies and departments take climate change into account in their decision-making.
On a regional level, aggressively represent the interests of Massachusetts consumers as a member of the New England Power Pool.

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