Press Release  AG Healey Launches Effort to Empower Massachusetts Ratepayers to Advocate for a Cleaner Energy System

BOSTON — Attorney General Maura Healey today launched an effort to help empower the state’s ratepayers to advocate for a cleaner energy system in Massachusetts.

The petition and accompanying educational video, launched today on the AG’s website, aim to educate Massachusetts families and businesses about the substantial public health and economic costs of fossil fuel usage and encourage them to call on ISO-New England to set market rules that support cleaner energy resources.

“Every day, we see the impacts of climate change in our communities, and our best solution to combat this crisis is to transition away from dirty fossil fuels and toward cleaner renewable energy,” AG Healey said. “We want to give ratepayers the tools to make their voices heard and help reshape our state’s energy system for future generations.”

ISO-New England is an independent, not-for-profit organization that manages and monitors the day-to-day operations of the region’s energy system. It also sets the wholesale market rules for buying and selling electricity consumed in Massachusetts. These rules impact the types of energy that power New England’s electric grid. The current rules prop up older, dirtier, and more expensive energy resources and make it harder for new, cleaner resources to provide affordable electricity to Massachusetts consumers.

“In New England, our current system is more expensive and more polluting than it should be,” the video states. “But we have an opportunity to reshape the system to be less reliant on outdated and polluting technology. And we can make sure the system will always work, even in periods of high demand.”

For more information on this initiative and to view the explainer video in Spanish and Portuguese click here.

Today’s launch was made possible by a grant from the Barr Foundation. Petition responses will be used to support efforts by the AG’s Office to advocate for rules that support affordable clean energy as ISO-New England considers electric market reforms.

As the ratepayer advocate for Massachusetts, AG Healey is committed to ensuring access to clean electricity at reasonable prices for all Massachusetts consumers.

This effort is being led by Special Assistant Attorney General Megan Herzog, of AG Healey’s Environmental Protection Division, Deputy Bureau Chief Rebecca Tepper and Bureau Chief Melissa A. Hoffer, of AG Healey’s Energy and Environment Bureau with assistance from Paralegal Michelle Predi, also of AG Healey’s Environmental Protection Division, and Marlon Dos Santos, of AG Healey’s Energy and Telecommunications Division.

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