A New Bill in Rhode Island Would Give Electric Ratepayers More Resources to Fight Back

The Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission on Friday voted to approve Rhode Island Energy’s proposed summer rates for residential customers, saying customers can expect relief following costly winter bills.

But the new rates have been met with such backlash by community members concerned about surging electric rates that state Rep. Megan Cotter has co-sponsored legislation that would fund customers’ participation in hearings about ratemaking and other issues before the RIPUC.

Part of the reason the new summer rates have been approved, despite public comments and protests, is that community members lack the necessary resources to get a seat in the rooms where decisions about their energy system are being made, said Emily Koo, senior policy advocate and Rhode Island program director at the Acadia Center, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization focusing on climate solutions.

That’s why Cotter, in partnership with the Acadia Center and the Conservation Law Foundation, introduced legislation to create an intervenor support program. The bill would enable individuals or organizations seeking legal representation to take part in evidentiary hearings at the RIPUC and the Energy Facility Siting Board.

“The resources, attorneys, and regulatory and technical knowledge that are needed to be able to participate and present evidence in a way that can actually change decisions is really an issue of access, and so we’re seeing decisions and proceedings not reflecting the public interest,” Koo said.

Unlike public comment hearings, evidentiary hearings work more like a courtroom, Koo explained. During those meetings, commissioners serve like a panel of judges, looking at proposals and evidence presented by the interested parties.

Koo is optimistic that the bill will eventually pass in the state.

“I think that there is a lot of appetite for engaging in the regulatory process, and that this is a really great inclusive program option,” she said.

To read the full article from Inside Climate News, click here.