Now it backs McKee’s plan to gut them.
By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current
Behind him stood leaders of the state’s top manufacturing companies. Each stepped up to the podium to bemoan rising energy costs during the 20-minute press conference. Except one.
John Ranieri, senior director for corporate engineering for Toray Plastics (America), stood silently in the background, smiling as McKee put pen to paper in a recording posted online by independent journalist Steve Ahlquist.
Ranieri stood in at the last minute for the North Kingstown manufacturer’s CEO, Christopher Roy, who was originally scheduled to attend and deliver remarks alongside executives from igus Inc., Bullard Abrasives, and VIBCO, Laura Hart, a spokesperson for McKee’s office, confirmed in an email Tuesday.
But environmental advocates in the audience, holding signs and wearing green T-shirts, noticed the Toray executive’s silence. They were not invited to speak during the press conference but had plenty to say after about the millions of dollars in state incentives Toray has received through the very programs McKee now wants to weaken.
“It’s disappointing to hear from business leaders about high energy costs without acknowledgement of the ways that those businesses have taken advantage of renewable energy and energy efficiency programs,” Emily Koo, Rhode Island program director for Acadia Center, said in a phone interview Monday afternoon.
Emily Howe, state director for Clean Water Action Rhode Island, called the silence from Toray executives “hypocritical.”
Toray applied for and received a $15.9 million energy efficiency rebate from National Grid in 2013, along with a $1.8 million advanced gas technology incentive to upgrade its 70-acre campus in Quonset Business Park.
The rebates helped pay for a pair of rotating gas turbines which generate 12.5 megawatts of net electricity — cutting electricity use by 58% a year and reducing carbon emissions by 4,000 tons annually, according to the 2013 application to state utility regulators. The incentives through state energy programs covered 70% of the $22.7 million project.
In 2010, Toray received a $500,000 state energy grant to help pay for a $2 million solar field on its campus, followed by a $1 million grant from the Economic Development Corp., the predecessor to Rhode Island Commerce, for the same project in 2011.
Hart did not respond to questions about Toray’s past use of state energy incentives.
Brenda Ockun, a spokesperson for Toray, acknowledged but did not provide a response to inquiries for comment.
Melissa Travis, CEO of the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association who invited Roy to attend the event, credited Toray for setting an example in energy investments.
“Chris, John and the entire team at Toray have been an invaluable part of the conversation and continue to provide leadership in advancing renewable energy discussions and new energy technologies,” Travis said in an email Tuesday.
Dismantling mandates?
The ceremonial signing at the Division of Public Utilities kicked off McKee’s “Affordability for All” tour. A cornerstone is the governor’s proposed solution to rising energy bills by tackling costs and fees meant to help the state transition away from fossil fuels.
McKee’s energy plan includes a $75 million cap on annual energy efficiency program spending, setting a ceiling that has never existed previously. The limit, along with changes to state renewable energy programs and incentives, will save ratepayers $1 billion over five years, according to estimates from the Rhode Island Office of Management and Budget.
“One of the No. 1 things I hear from constituents is the cost of our energy bills,” McKee said Monday. “There is no question about that.”
McKee, who is facing a tough reelection battle in the fall, blamed the Trump administration’s anti-renewable policies for making existing state mandates and programs more difficult, and more expensive.
“We can’t ask Rhode Island ratepayers to bear the brunt of Trump’s chaos in Washington,” McKee said.
In addition to the cap on energy efficiency rebates, McKee’s reform also scales back the first-in-the-nation Renewable Energy Standard law, signed in 2022, postponing the 2033 deadline to generate or purchase credits to offset 100% of state electricity needs until 2050. The later date is also the deadline for decarbonization under the separate, but linked Act on Climate law.
Costs that support large-scale solar projects, and the credit system that helps customers who buy power from them are also a target, though not as originally envisioned. McKee initially proposed charging a grid access fee on large-scale solar projects to offset rising costs and capping credits issued to customers that participate in the program.
The new executive order does not mention either option, instead calling for the energy office to propose changes to the virtual net metering program that “maintain ratepayer savings for households and businesses,” while avoiding “adverse impacts on existing solar projects.” The order also charges state energy officials with conducting a comprehensive and long-term review of behind-the-meter costs, and the state’s Renewable Energy Growth program, which sets long-term prices for electricity from renewable energy projects. The Renewable Energy Growth program was not mentioned in McKee’s prior proposal.
The changes could slightly affect the total savings based on forthcoming supplemental budget articles the state Office of Energy Resources is now tasked with submitting.
“Our goal is to have a minimal impact on the projected savings,” Hart said in an email Tuesday.
Koo acknowledged the merits of a more comprehensive review of state incentives for large-scale solar projects. But it was little comfort because the bigger problems — capping energy efficiency spending and slowing the state’s transition to renewable electricity — remain the foundation of McKee’s plan.
“I am still very concerned about energy efficiency and renewables overall being blamed for high energy costs,” Koo said.
Howe was not expecting additional studies to reveal anything new with state incentives.
“We’ve done studies, and it always comes to the same conclusion: We have to continue relying on wind and solar,” Howe said.
An economic boost
The company executives who spoke Monday did not acknowledge how efficiency improvements or solar panels could cut their own energy costs.
“In the last four years, energy costs have become line items in financial statements that I cannot neglect anymore,” Felix Brockmeyer, CEO of igus Inc. in East Providence, said. “Having reductions in energy costs will bring more jobs to Rhode Island, and allow us to expand.”
Craig Pickell, CEO of Bullard Abrasives in Lincoln, linked high energy costs to worker pay.
“It’s not just about our business, it’s about our people,” he said. “Sixty thousand people rely on manufacturing jobs in the state, and we’re trying to help them by raising wages, but you can’t continue to do that while also paying another fee for energy usage.”
For low-income families with children, soaring energy bills force tough choices between rent, food and electricity or heat, said Donna Rook, family and adult services administrator for the Rhode Island Department of Human Services. More than 25% of the applications to state programs helping families avoid eviction seek help with utility bills — more prevalent than requests for housing assistance, Rook said.
Not mentioned by speakers at the event, but top of mind for Koo: the fees charged by Rhode Island Energy for distributing non-renewable electricity and gas to its customers. While a quarter of monthly bill charges reflect government taxes and policies — including the renewable and energy efficiency programs now under threat — another quarter comes from distribution costs set by the utility provider. This is also how the company makes money.
PPL Corp, Rhode Island Energy’s parent company, faces mounting scrutiny by advocates and lawmakers for its C-suite salaries and payouts to shareholders, partially derived from the profits it makes off operating electric and gas services in Rhode Island, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
“It’s convenient for the utility that we’re not talking about the utility costs, we’re only talking about energy and taxes,” Koo said. “That’s to their benefit.”
Michael Dalo, a spokesperson for Rhode Island Energy, expressed support for McKee’s plan in a statement Monday.
“Utility earnings remain one of the smallest components of the typical residential bill at about 2%, or under $3.50 per month on average compared to $30+ per month in state mandates,” Dalo said. “State‑mandated programs are only one part of total energy costs, but they are a key element that directly affects affordability.”
McKee’s order also tasks the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, the administrative arm of the state utility operation, with analyzing any legislation that will impact ratepayers.
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