Two New England energy companies in surprising alliance with fossil fuel lobby, undercutting climate targets

Last year, two major energy companies working in Massachusetts joined the ranks of an innocuous sounding group: the Consumer Energy Alliance. The organization calls itself “the voice of the energy consumer,” while espousing the “all-of-the-above” approach to energy — oil, natural gas, wind, and solar.

But, according to financial documents, the alliance was formed and is operated by a fossil fuel lobbying group based in Houston. Its stated purpose includes “the promotion and defense of natural gas.”

In Massachusetts, a state that’s set aggressive climate targets, cooperation and buy-in from utilities is a pillar of how the state plans to get there. That makes it “incredibly troubling” that both Eversource, one of the state’s largest gas and electric utilities, and Avangrid, offshore wind developer and the parent company of Berkshire Gas, became members of the alliance last year, said Kyle Murray, Massachusetts program director for the advocacy group the Acadia Center.

“At a time when we know we need to be transitioning off of fossil fuels as soon as is practicable, these companies have instead opted to join with a group dedicated to frustrating that aim, and indeed directly at odds with some of the positive initiatives that these companies have been advancing in the Northeast” like geothermal networks, offshore wind transmission, and more, Murray said.

To read the full article from the Boston Globe, click here.