Lower power rates for Massachusetts heat pump owners

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Northeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

ELECTRIFICATION

• Massachusetts’ investor-owned utilities launch a seasonal electricity rate for households with heat pumps, which could help make clean heating systems affordable for more residents. (Canary Media)

• Municipal officials and climate advocates in Massachusetts ask the legislature to expand a pilot program that allows a limited number of cities and towns to prohibit gas hookups in new construction. (RTO Insider)

AFFORDABILITY

• Massachusetts regulators deny a proposed natural gas rate increase that would have raised the average monthly bill more than $40 starting in November; ​“This is a start,” says Gov. Maura Healey. (NBC Boston)

• Boston launches an initiative offering residents free consultations with advisers who can help them find energy savings through existing city and state programs. (WBUR)

CLIMATE

• After a judge orders New York to issue regulations ensuring it meets its decarbonization goals, Gov. Kathy Hochul says the ruling is unrealistic in light of the Covid pandemic and the Trump administration’s attacks on renewable energy. (New York Focus)

OFFSHORE WIND

• Maryland’s attorney general files a brief supporting US Wind’s request for an injunction preventing the Trump administration from blocking the development. (Coast TV)

• A Massachusetts university will team up with the New Bedford Port Authority to study how commercial fishing vessels operate in offshore wind areas. (news release)

NUCLEAR

• The New York Power Authority asks upstate communities to gauge their interest in hosting a nuclear power project as the state aims to build at least 1 GW of new nuclear power. (Axios)

• A nuclear reactor at a power plant in Pennsylvania goes offline after a cloud of hydrogen gas unexpectedly ignited. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)

FOSSIL FUELS

• About two-thirds of New Jersey voters support the construction of new natural gas power plants, a new poll finds. (New Jersey Business Magazine)

SOLAR

• A Pennsylvania technology distribution company unveils a five-acre solar park it says will offset its energy consumption. (PennLive)

GRID

• The governors of Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia partner with the Data Center Coalition on a proposal that asks PJM to prioritize interconnection for data center firms that will build their own power generation. (Inside Climate News)

• Community leaders and residents of Maryland’s Carroll County ask state regulators to dismiss an energy developer’s application for a permit to build a widely opposed transmission line through the area. (Baltimore Sun)

NEW FROM CANARY

• Energy bills are rising nationwide. In Georgia, they’re on the ballot. — Jeff St. John

• Virginia legislators have a new road map for reining in electric bills — Elizabeth Ouzts

• Chart: Batteries are set to surge onto the US grid — Dan McCarthy

• Meet the coal miner who just started a geothermal drilling business — Alison F. Takemura