Wednesday, December 12, 2012
National Grid was fined nearly $19 million, the highest fine levied against utilities in Massachusetts.
The state on Tuesday ordered a total of $24.8 million in penalties to utility companies for their response to storms in 2011. Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan joined Department of Public Utilities (DPU) Chairman Ann Berwick and DPU commissioners today to announce the findings of the DPU’s investigation into responses to Tropical Storm Irene and the October 2011 snowstorm. Provided the penalties hold up, customers should see a reduction in their bill, though it is unclear how much, officials said. National Grid faces the steepest penalty, at $18.725 million. NSTAR has been ordered to pay $4.075 million, while the Western Massachusetts Electric Company faces a $2 million penalty. National Grid told the …
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Are the fines imposed against National Grid sufficient?
As we near the one-year anniversary of Tropical Storm Irene, which left thousands of Easton residents (and nearly a million total Massachusetts residents) without power for days, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is proving that she hasn't forgotten what she calls an "inadequate response" to both the tropical storm and an October snowstorm with similar results. Coakely is recommending a $16 million fine against the company – the largest penalty ever recommended against a utility in Massachusetts, according to a statement from her office released Thursday. The penalties, if passed would not affect National Grid customers and would have to be borne on shareholders. The AG’s Office made the recommendation in a brief filed …
Friday, December 16, 2011
The Boston Chamber of Commerce Honored National Grid's President This Week.
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Friday, December 16, 2011
National Grid President Marcy Reed was honored this week by the Boston Chamber of Commerce for “outstanding achievement in the workplace," according to the Boston Herald. Reed was one of eight women named this week for the chamber's "Pinnacle Award." “Based on her impressive career and engagement in a broad range of civic activities, the (selection) committee determined Marcy was an excellent choice for this honor," the Chamber said in a statement to the Herald. National Grid was at the brunt of critisicm in Easton and surrounding communities during the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, which left over 7,000 Easton residents without power. Many did not have power restored until six to seven days later. To read the full story, click here.
Monday, September 19, 2011
A number of area towns are considering making the switch
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Your region roundup of news for Tuesday, Sept. 13.
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Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Officials commended the work of town emergency officials while questioning the responsiveness of National Grid and looking for ways to improve procedure in the future.
Board of Selectmen members agreed Monday night that the work of Easton's Department of Public Works, Fire Department and Police Department was commendable during Hurricane Irene and its aftermath last week, which resulted in numerous branches down, over 100 calls to emergency officials and loss of power for over 7,000 Easton households. Some members of the board, however, were not pleased with the response from National Grid. "You guys did a great job and I thank you for that," Selectman Todd Gornstein told Fire Chief Tom Stone, DPW Director Wayne Southworth and Police Chief Allen Krajcik. "National grid – their behavior was egregious." Gornstein said that communication between the power company and the town needed to improve in the future…
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Friday, September 2, 2011
Its easy to forget how reliant we are on our modern technologies.
It’s another brilliant day of sunshine in the aftermath of Irene, and I’m happily sitting at my computer, with blow-dried hair, and a cold yogurt and iced tea by my side. Last week, they were comforts that I never thought twice about, but today, what a difference. I spent only two and a half days without power, and yet I feel like I revisited the 19th century again, living the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, on Little House on the Prairie. Well, maybe just a little. I wasn’t exactly wringing out clothes, or making home-made biscuits to cook in a wood-fired oven. But, I did spend a few hours buying ice bags, trying to keep meat and milk from spoiling. And for two evenings, I actually read a few pages of a book by candlelight. My eyes …
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Thoughts and Puttting Things in Perspective
As I mentioned in this space last week, I was out of town, in the Midwest, when Hurricane Irene hit the area. Yet in this day of instantaneous online communication, while I could not experience in-place the hurricane, I could keep abreast of its developments. (And, by the way, I am going to do a call out for the news section of Easton Patch for the value it rendered in the days prior to and during Irene, and which it continues to provide. No where else could you receive storm news that was more current and which delivered more value.) Former New Englanders, it seemed, were fascinated with the storm – and wished that they could be back here during it. Now, for sure, that is because it looked like Irene was going to be strong enough to …
How well do you think National Grid responded to Hurricane Irene?
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Wednesday, August 31, 2011
We're asking Easton Patch readers a different question every weekday at noon. Questions could range from local decisions made by officials, to state issues, to national politics and entertainment. Whatever it is, we want to know what EASTON thinks! To answer, use our comments section below. National Grid ripped through Easton Sunday, shutting down power for over 6,000 Easton households. While at its peak, almost all of town was out of power, residents have slowly seen the lights turn on throughout town. Still, three days later, many remain in the dark. National Grid said yesterday that most outages should be restored by Friday. The remaining few should have power restored by Sunday. How well do you think National Grid responded to …
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
It's Sunday morning. What’s left of Hurricane Irene is poised to roll through the area within hours and the columnist is hoping to have his writing wrapped up before the power goes out. Will he make it?
Prologue: It’s 10:00 AM on Sunday and I’ve been working on this column for about an hour. I came back to the beginning to write this prologue to let you know the power in Easton has been drifting in and out for about the past twenty minutes so I’ve unplugged my laptop and I’m operating on battery for now. Well, I’m not operating on battery, at least not yet, but my laptop is. A brownout can be a lethal event for a computer and I’m not interested in shelling out a boat-load of cash for a new one right now. By the time you read this, the saga of Hurricane Irene will be in the rearview mirror for most of us unless, of course, we happen to be in the news biz. The talking heads will have a field day telling us ‘everything we ever wanted to …
Carol Houghton
6:16 am on Friday, July 27, 2012
I think the response time was terrible but I also do not think that the entire 16 million should go into the state's general fund. We were the ones that suffered so the money should be taken off our extremely HIGH bills. more ›