Massachusetts is phasing out natural gas. Why is it expanding in Douglas?
There’s not a whole lot to do in the tiny Central Massachusetts town of Douglas. There are state forests, a couple of pizza shops, and the water slides of the Breezy Picnic Grounds — it’s more Norman Rockwell than Downtown Crossing.
It also happens to be among the state’s 91 cities and towns with no natural gas service, a distinction that has led climate advocates to believe such communities are sure bets for converting quickly and easily from dirty fuels like oil and propane directly to climate-friendly electricity.
So they were dismayed recently to learn that Douglas officials and one of the state’s biggest gas utilities worked in the shadows for several years to bring gas service to the town and deliberately concealed the plans from climate advocates and others who might intervene.
“It sounds like this was an attempt to keep this out of the public eye, to keep the public less informed,” said Kyle Murray, director of the Massachusetts program at the clean energy advocacy nonprofit Acadia Center. “It’s incredibly depressing.”
To read the full article in the Boston Globe, click here.
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