Regulators Focus on Energy Affordability at NECPUC Symposium

MYSTIC, Conn. — Government officials and industry executives discussed how to mitigate rising energy costs in New England at the 77th annual New England Conference of Public Utility Commissioners Symposium May 19 and 20.

Jamie Dickerson, senior director of clean energy and climate programs at the Acadia Center, said it was “a cold, tough winter, there’s no doubt about it,” but added that “the primary driver of costs was gas and oil, not renewable energy.”

He said adding more clean energy to the grid will help diversify the supply mix and drive down market volatility. The New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line, which is slated to come online at the end of 2025 should save ratepayers millions annually, while the winter-peaking power production profile of offshore wind should provide significant relief for winter price spikes, Dickerson said.

He resisted the idea that adding new pipeline capacity to the region would lower consumer costs, telling attendees that “we actually don’t see that there is an economic case for the buildout of pipelines into New England.”

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