


It is important to note that New England states’ mere consideration of subsidizing new pipeline capacity has likely had a chilling effect on the market and undermined potential private sector financing for energy infrastructure.
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“Now we need a full assessment of alternatives to a multi-billion dollar pipeline ‘fix’ that would increase our addiction, transfer risk from private corporations to the public, and undermine efforts to reduce climate pollution most cost-effectively.” “This report begins to show a way to break our addiction to natural gas,” said Peter Shattuck, Massachusetts Director for Acadia Center. These risks include natural gas price increases due expanded exports, which the Department of Energy has concluded could raise prices by almost 50%, or a repeat of last year’s cold weather, which caused natural gas prices in Pennsylvania to skyrocket, undermining the argument that imported shale gas would reduce price spikes. It is critical for policymakers both to demonstrate that they have fully examined and exhausted alternatives across the region and also to minimize risks to consumers.

Proposals to expand natural gas pipeline capacity rely on an unprecedented region-wide electricity tariff requiring federal approval.

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“Because electric ratepayers across New England are being asked to subsidize the construction of a pipeline that could take decades to pay off, alternatives need to be examined in all New England states to ensure that we have an accurate, up-to-date picture of how to power the region while reducing risks to consumers and bringing down greenhouse gas emissions.”Ī number of key limitations make the need for updated, regional analysis clear: “Massachusetts has taken an important but preliminary step toward thorough analysis of viable supply- and demand-side solutions to meet our energy needs,” said Acadia Center President Dan Sosland. However, constraints placed on the study limit its applicability to current energy challenges facing New England this initial analysis should not be interpreted to support a new subsidy that would shift multi-billion dollar risks from private corporations to the public. The analysis found that prioritizing energy efficiency, renewable energy, and imports of Canadian hydroelectricity would reduce Massachusetts’s exposure to wintertime price spikes that result from our growing dependence on natural gas for heating and electricity generation. Boston, MA – On JanuMassachusetts released a “Low Demand Analysis” evaluating means to reduce overreliance on natural gas through investments in clean energy.
