Dive Brief:

  • To coordinate communities’ transition off fossil fuels and onto clean energy, Massachusetts established an Office of Energy Transformation, it announced March 15.
  • The office, which Massachusetts says is the nation’s first of its kind, will focus on ensuring adequate electric infrastructure as demand increases; coordinating with gas and electric utilities to maintain reliability, safety and affordability throughout the transition; and preparing workers and businesses for the transition.
  • Gas is on its way out in Massachusetts, according to what climate advocates called a transformative decision the state Department of Public Utilities made via an order it issued in December. The order places numerous restrictions on utilities looking to expand gas infrastructure.

Dive Insight:

Massachusetts, which is aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050, has been considering a transition away from fossil fuels since at least 2020. That’s when Gov. Maura Healey, D, who was then attorney general, asked DPU to investigate if the state and gas utilities were planning appropriately for the shift to electric heat and eventual natural gas system decommissioning. 

Gas utilities submitted their plan to decarbonize the gas system in March 2022, but the plan received criticism from climate advocates for relying on renewable natural gas. Renewable natural gas is created from organic matter such as manure, food waste and wastewater biosolids. RNG captures and uses methane from organic waste that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere, but critics say it is not a realistic decarbonization solution due to lack of availability, high cost and the greenhouse gas emissions produced when burned.

The DPU rejected the utilities’ proposal in its eventual order, which prohibits utilities from using ratepayer money to promote gas and prohibits them from charging customers for new gas infrastructure if a viable alternative exists. The order also changes a cost recovery process that previously incentivized adding gas customers.

However, weaning Massachusetts off gas is much more complicated than passing an order. The region’s grid is not ready to meet the increased demand of customers electrifying, although utility companies rolled out a plan in September to upgrade it. Thousands of workers rely on fossil fuel-related jobs for their livelihoods, according to the state. An unmanaged transition off gas could also leave lower-income community members who can’t retrofit their homes or businesses footing the bill of maintaining the gas system.

“Planning ahead and taking a coordinated approach will help contain costs and minimize impacts on ratepayers,” the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs said in a press release. 

The new Energy Transformation Office will convene a task force with representatives from utilities, municipalities, business, labor and the supply chain industry. The task force will inform the development of near-term priority actions to address barriers to the clean energy transition and a long-term road map. 

The long-term road map would evaluate where and when new electric infrastructure is needed, gas infrastructure can be retired and projects such as geothermal and targeted electrification can advance, according to a press release. 

California communities are also in the early phases of planning targeted electrification projects, which intentionally electrify a defined area to decommission portions of the gas pipeline. 

The task force and Energy Transformation Office will also create and execute a plan to set gas-dependent workers and businesses up for success and competitiveness even as the system is pared back, according to a press release.

The former head of corporate affairs for the utility National Grid, New England, Melissa Lavinson, will lead the office, starting May 1. 

“Picking a leader that is not a political figure, but someone that knows the sector, understands the challenges, and has the purview and ability to get things done is both smart and necessary,” Michael Monahan, international vice president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 103, said in a statement.