Representative government is at the heart of our democracy. The men and women sent by voters to the Legislature are expected to see that the best interests of their communities are served by government.
A delegation of western Massachusetts lawmakers wants to make their constituents’ voices heard as the state Department of Public Utilities goes through the process of considering Berkshire Gas’ plan for supplying the region with natural gas. That process must include hard questions about the moratorium on new or expanded service the company has imposed on seven communities: Deerfield, Greenfield, Montague, Sunderland and Whately in Franklin County and Amherst, Hadley and Hatfield in Hampshire County.
The decision to halt new natural gas service hookups in these communities stems from the company reaching its supply limits, utility officials have said. Berkshire Gas then signed on as a customer for the proposed Northeast Energy Direct natural gas pipeline, going as far as to acquire a 2.5 percent interest in the proposed pipeline. All the while, Berkshire Gas maintained that if the new pipeline wasn’t built, the moratorium would remain in place indefinitely.
With Kinder Morgan, the company behind the pipeline, withdrawing its plans, Berkshire Gas has stood by its no-new-service stance. Local legislators, however, know that this moratorium is hurting the area, stunting economic growth.
They argue that there are ways for the company to meet the gas demand of the area. As Senate President Stanley Rosenberg said earlier this year, the company should be studying alternatives such as “conservation, increasing the capacity of existing pipelines, boosting liquefied natural gas storage and extending a lateral line from an existing pipeline along an existing right of way.”
To better ensure that the needs of the region are understood and represented, Rosenberg of Amherst and Reps. Stephen Kulik, D-Worthington, Paul Mark, D-Peru, Peter Kocot, D-Northampton, John Scibak, D-South Hadley, and Ellen Story, D-Amherst, have all asked to be granted intervenor status in the DPU case.
“We need to work with Berkshire Gas and the Department of Public Utilities to find a solution to the moratorium as quickly as possible,” Rosenberg said recently. “By participating in the Berkshire Gas Forecast and Supply plan case, we will be able to better represent the needs of the district in the ongoing effort to find the right solution for lifting the moratorium on new gas customers.”
“It will give us a seat at the table directly,” Rosenberg said. “We’ll be able to participate at a level beyond what we can normally do. You can go to the hearing, you can ask questions, you can write letters. It goes to a higher level. We can ask rhetorical questions and hope they answer them. As intervenors, we can actually ask questions which they’re obligated” to answer. … “This is all on the record, it’s all public.”
It’s all public — and that’s in the best interests of the public as represented by our legislative delegation. We would like to think that the DPU would see this as well.