The following was received in reaction to approval this week of the sale of Narragansett Electric to Pennsylvania Power & Light by the Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities & Carriers. The complete order can be found on the division website at http://www.ripuc.ri.gov/eventsactions/docket/D_21_09_Table_of_Contents.pdf
NationalGrid has always been very supportive of the Burrillville Land Trust, and with the sale of Narragansett Electric, we look forward to a continued good relationship with Pennsylvania Power & Light.
While the land trust is hopeful about the future working relationship with PPL, the DPUC’s decision to approve the sale without any requirement, “…that the proposed transaction produce net benefits,” has drawn the concern of the land trust.
According to the released statement, the DPUC found that “such an interpretation [of finding net benefits] would circumvent the authority of the Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council.”
As we worked through the many avenues to help stop a power plant and help preserve our forests and waters, we always implored every state and municipal agency to look beyond the letter of their own authority and help find “net benefits” for our environment. Helping the environment must be paramount.
The DPUC’s decision not to help find ways to incorporate the decarbonization mandates of the Act on Climate in the sale puts a damper on our collective efforts to keep this world, this planet, healthy and safe.
We now have to wait for the EC4 to take action and while we wait, the efforts to coordinate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions will continue to stall.
Paul A. Roselli
Paul Roselli is president of the Burrillville Land Trust, a private non-profit, all volunteer 501(c)(3) in the town of Burrillville. The Land Trust’s mission is to preserve and protect the rural character of the town of Burrillville through education, advocacy and acquisition. The land trust has been around since 2000 and currently owns about 229 acres in Burrillville.
