Videos and text by TIM
FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff
Activists from the Providence Democratic Socialists of America and the George Wiley Center protested Nov. 2 in front of Gov. Gina Raimondo’s house. (Tim Faulkner/ecoRI News)
The struggle over Rhode Island’s energy future was underscored by a recent protest outside of Gov. Gina Raimondo’s East Side home.
Activists from the Providence Democratic Socialists of America
(DSA) and the Pawtucket-based George Wiley Center, a
social and economic justice group, sounded off at a Nov. 2 demonstration on
Raimondo’s lack of response to a request for a socially progressive
candidate to lead the state’s energy regulatory board, the Public
Utilities Commission (PUC).
The PUC job was given added
significance when a report on January’s natural-gas outage on Aquidneck Island
called for expanding natural-gas infrastructure, something environmental and
social justice groups oppose.
“This is a vital position in the fight against the climate crisis and we need to appoint someone who is not going to be a rubber stamp for fossil-fuel companies like National Grid,” said Corey Krajewski, a protest organizer and co-chair of Providence DSA.
The activists offered a list of
qualifications for the next chair of the PUC:
- she or he should be free of any political or professional conflict of interest;
- show a commitment to public transparency;
- grasp the severity of the climate crisis and act to address it;
- make energy affordable by adopting a percentage of income payment plan;
- stop utility shutoffs;
- support a full transition to renewable energy by 2030;
- oppose new fossil-fuel infrastructure; oppose utility privation;
- and reverse environmental racism.
“The Public Utilities Commission is
a political body that makes political decisions. It is not just a bureaucracy,”
DSA organizer Will Speck said. “It makes real decisions that affects real
people’s lives.”
Raimondo was seen outside her home
during the protest but she didn’t address the activists.
In an Oct. 30 report, the Rhode Island Division of
Public Utilities & Carriers (DPUC) faulted National Grid and pipeline
company Enbridge, based in Calgary, for the weeklong gas outage that impacted
7,455 customers on Aquidneck Island.
Multiple problems triggered a
so-called “low-pressure condition” within Enbridge’s Algonquin natural-gas
pipeline.
The shutdown was caused by increased demand for gas, the loss of power at the Providence Fields Point liquified natural gas facility (LNG), and a faulty pipeline valve in Weymouth, Mass.
The shutdown was caused by increased demand for gas, the loss of power at the Providence Fields Point liquified natural gas facility (LNG), and a faulty pipeline valve in Weymouth, Mass.
The report also noted National
Grid’s failure to address the growth in demand and the company’s “erroneous”
decision not to deploy temporary LNG vaporization facilities on Aquidneck
Island.
The DPUC recommended that National Grid and Enbridge pay $25 million for repairs, rather than charge ratepayers. Public hearings will held before the PUC if National Grid seeks to recover the money from ratepayers.
National Grid was also fined $39,000
for waiting 39 days to report the shutdown of vaporizers at its Fields Point
LNG facility.
The DPUC suggested building new
fossil-fuel infrastructure such as a larger natural-gas line serving Aquidneck
Island. National Grid previously agreed to deploying temporary LNG facilities
to meet winter gas demand. The report suggested installing other LNG equipment
to better accommodate natural-gas use.
In a prepared statement, Raimondo
said the DPUC findings are “troubling.”
“It’s clear that much needs to be
done to ensure the reliability of the system,” she said. “I am directing the
(DPUC) to immediately advance the report’s recommendations.”
Outgoing PUC chairwoman Margaret
Curran wasn’t renewed for a second, six-year term by Raimondo. The governor’s
initial nominee, Laura Olton, withdrew her nomination in late July after
questions about her residency.
Environmental and grassroots groups
opposed Olton’s nomination because of her previous job as an attorney for
National Grid. The experience, they argued, showed a bias toward the large
utility and other multinationals.
Raimondo’s next candidate for PUC
chair must be approved by the Senate. The General Assembly reconvenes in
January.
