On the unceded Narragansett and Pokanoket territory now known as Aquidneck Island, the energy future of Rhode Island stands at a crossroads. Following a power failure and the ensuing state of emergency last winter, National Grid presented several options to update the island’s energy infrastructure. These options include a new pipeline spanning the Narragansett Bay; continued use of the natural gas and vaporization facility at Old Mill Lane in Portsmouth; a new location for liquid natural gas beyond the Old Mill Lane location; and non-infrastructural measures consisting of electrification, demand reduction, and efficiency improvements.
The Providence DSA endorses the non-infrastructural option. Building new fossil fuel infrastructure in 2020 is a dangerous proposition that does not serve the needs of the community at large. Rhode Island cannot afford to continue investing in an energy system that threatens the future of the planet. National Grid should listen to the demands of the residents of Aquidneck Island and provide them with the solution without passing costs to ratepayers. What happens on Aquidneck Island will set the tone for the future of energy in Rhode Island.
Aquidneck Island and Rhode Island at large are uniquely threatened by the climate crisis. Our coasts are vulnerable to floods, and the temperate climate cycle is showing signs of disruption with stronger storms and warmer winters. Already this year, several tropical storms blown north have disrupted power across Southern New England for days at a time. Outages and destruction will only increase in frequency as investment in fossil fuels spurs more greenhouse gas emissions.
Like many states, Rhode Island has set goals for phasing in a renewable energy economy. Per the proposed Act on Climate 2020 bill, Rhode Island has set a goal of 45% renewables by 2030 and 100% by 2050. Earlier this year, Governor Raimondo additionally issued an executive order aiming for 100% renewable electricity by 2030. Continuing to expand the fossil fuel system based on projections of demand is fraught with pitfalls. It’s apparent that natural gas has failed as a bridge fuel, as utility companies attempt to maximize profits on existing systems. The longer that the transition from fossil fuels is delayed, the more difficult it is to adopt greener energy down the line.
An electrified heat scheme would primarily rely on heat pumps to regulate heating and cooling via existing electrical grid systems. This would protect Aquidneck Island from the immediate and long-term dangers of natural gas. Canada and the Scandinavian countries have already widely adopted heat pumps, allowing heat and cooking fuel to be drawn from the existing energy grid. In the United States, Vermont and Maine have already begun constructing new electrified power technology, and this is expected to continue.
Energy companies remain resistant to introducing new forms of energy. Supporters of fossil fuel infrastructure solutions often cite the price tag of greener technology as an insurmountable barrier to adoption. In their presentation on the Aquidneck Island project, National Grid conceded that the costs of electrification of local power and heat on the island evens out with the other options in the long run, but the company still favors the short-term windfall of expanding infrastructure and increasing dependence on fossil fuels.
Most utility companies in New England do not generate any actual energy of their own, and National Grid is no exception. Utility companies like National Grid charge ratepayers for delivery of gas and electricity via National Grid’s infrastructure. National Grid constructing new pipelines and facilities at the expense of ratepayers is a sound investment from their perspective. With profit as their primary motive, they will expand their ability to deliver more energy and make more money. Their resistance to electrification stems from natural gas infrastructure becoming obsolete--electrified heat would consolidate energy needs into a single electrical bill.
In May of this year, Samantha Wilt of the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York criticized a similar report by National Grid, pointing out that National Grid neglected to consider the value of reducing carbon as a goal unto itself. National Grid’s methodology must remain in line with their stated goals of safety and compliance with environmental objectives in the fight against climate change. As the Office of Environmental Research noted this year, the non-infrastructural solution’s use of heat pumps and increased energy efficiency are in line with the decisive measures needed to address the crisis.
Beyond combating climate change, the non-infrastructural option presents tangible material benefits to offset the up-front costs. The installation and maintenance of new systems would add jobs and drive the adoption of new technologies. Electrifying Aquidneck Island would stimulate Rhode Island’s burgeoning green economic sector. Traditional workers like contractors, electricians, plumbers, carpenters and other homebuilding professionals would gain work removing existing natural gas pipelines and establishing modern, effective electrical supply lines and appliances.
In addition to the material benefits of electrifying heat and modernizing the utility scheme in the state, these changes are essential to protect public health and the environment. The by-products of cooking and heating with gas can cause respiratory problems. Fumes from burning gas have increased asthma rates in frontline communities like South Providence. Despite pushback from groups like NOLNG PVD, National Grid continues plans for a new LNG facility in South Providence. Increasing Aquidneck Island’s dependence on fracked gas would feed destructive fracking in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, while regional fracked gas systems spew toxins into local communities like Burrillville here in Rhode Island. Failures in the infrastructure, whether through human error or attrition, can cause leaks, explosions, and other damage. Most critically, moving away from environmentally-damaging energy provided by natural gas returns priceless dividends as we fight and mitigate climate change.
The continued use of fossil fuels frustrations the goals set by scientists and leaders locally and statewide. Climate change carries dire social costs, threatening public health, food supplies, and people’s homes. Rhode Island is on the front lines of the looming climate disaster in the Northeast. Every measure taken here and now will save lives. The math is clear. Today’s endless march of expanding natural gas is not working. Rhode Island has the opportunity to lead the way in renewable and equitable energy, and Aquidneck Island is the next step on that path. National Grid must turn away from business as usual and invest in a greener future--the needs of Aquidneck Island will best be served by electrification and a revamp of existing infrastructure as part of a long-term project growing green alternatives.
Rhode Islanders must have a direct, decisive say in their utilities, now more than ever. Much of the existing oversight is already marred by conflicts of interest. National Grid has also repeatedly applied for exemption from environmental standards for the existing facility at the Old Mill Lane and is continuing to seek exemption for all temporary facilities. Former National Grid managers have already been tapped for audits, tasking them with holding their former employer accountable. The Public Utilities Commission in Rhode Island is intended to act as a check on National Grid, but instead of truly representing the people, it is staffed by governor appointment. Even former lawyers for energy companies have been appointed to push a pro-pipeline solution for Aquidneck Island.
Relying on a governor with a track record of making pro-fossil fuel appointments is not a tenable solution. Giving Rhode Islanders the power to instead elect our own representatives to the Public Utilities Commission would be a strong first step in building a more just scheme for utilities in Rhode Island. We need to radically reimagine how oversight and ethics are managed. A board selected by ratepayers would allow them to help guide and shape policy in accordance with the needs of the ratepayers themselves--not National Grid’s shareholders.
Democracy in utilities does not have to stop there. Amid a pandemic, National Grid has continued rate hikes and shutoffs, even as the global economy continues to shrink. The PIPP, or the Percentage of Income Payment Plan, ensures that everyone has access to heat and electricity by adjusting their rates to their means. Every year in Rhode Island, National Grid shuts off utilities to thousands upon thousands of people who cannot afford to pay--people who need these utilities to work, stay fed, and survive the winter. PIPP protects these people from deadly shutoffs PIPP is not an untested piece of experimental legislation, but a decades-old rule in Rhode Island before the deregulation of the 1990s.
Above all else, public involvement and ownership of utilities ensures that energy meets the needs of everyday people. Giving the people more say and ownership over their energy will allow Rhode Islanders to stop the vicious cycle of sunk cost in a false bridge fuel that leads nowhere. The Providence DSA firmly believes that true justice and equity comes when the utilities that heat our homes are owned by the people who live in them. Aquidneck Island represents a clear opportunity to make headway against the climate crisis here in Rhode Island. The Providence DSA will continue to fight for energy and climate justice here in Rhode Island, as we work toward publicly-owned utilities and a better future for all.
Supporting Organizations: Providence DSA, Nationalize Grid, Sunrise Providence, Burillville BASE, Brown University Graduate Labor Organization (GLO)