Cold weather threatens to take bite out of Healey’s energy savings bid

Frigid temperatures across Massachusetts this past week are bound to hit ratepayers in their wallets — and if the conditions persist, could limit how much savings Bay Staters feel from Gov. Maura Healey’s plan to cut utility bills this winter.

A brutally cold week in New England with temperatures plunging below zero across much of Massachusetts on Friday is driving up energy demand for natural gas and electricity as heating systems work harder and run longer to warm homes.

“This was a national cold snap, which has caused natural gas prices to spike across the nation, and this has pulled everyone’s prices up,” said Kyle Murray, Massachusetts state director for the Acadia Center. “It’s not just a Massachusetts-specific problem for these months. And as a result of that, we’re going to see really high bills, unfortunately, regardless of what the governor does. This relief is certainly welcome, but I think there’s just limited additional tools that they could tap into for additional relief.”

But this season’s cold blast is prompting hand-wringing for both the short- and long-term. Murray at the Acadia Center said the price spikes ratepayers are bracing for is more proof for why “we need to move as quickly as possible to get off of the volatile fossil fuel marketplace and invest heavily in energy efficiency.”

To read the full article from Commonwealth Beacon, click here.