Cambridge Climate Committee Says New Mass. Energy Bill Would Slow Clean Energy Progress

The Cambridge Climate Committee expressed concerns that a new Massachusetts energy affordability bill would come at the cost of clean energy programs and energy efficiency initiatives for households in a meeting Thursday.

The bill, pushed by State Rep. Mark J. Cusack, is aimed at lowering energy costs for residents and businesses by rolling back on climate initiatives and reducing the budget for state-sponsored energy programs. However, some committee members worry key provisions could weaken the state’s emissions targets and restrict funding for programs that increase clean energy accessibility.

Cusack, a Democrat, represents towns including Braintree and Holbrook south of Boston.

The energy affordability bill is rapidly advancing in the state government and passed the House Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy on Wednesday. To be enacted, the bill still has to pass the House Committee on Ways and Means, the corresponding Senate committee, approved by both the House and Senate, and signed by Massachusetts Gov. Maura T. Healey ’92.

The energy-affordability act was originally proposed by Healey in May to address high energy costs.

Cambridge Chief Climate Officer Julie Wormser said Healey’s proposal was “not perfect” but provided a good framework for the city's climate goals.

Wormser said Healey’s proposed bill would improve the efficacy of household energy efficiency incentives and was “very focused on affordability and also making the transition to renewable energy easier.”

The Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy has since proposed a new version of the bill aimed at addressing energy affordability but adding multiple sections limiting clean-energy goals.

But some committee members in the meeting worry the bill could limit critical energy efficiency programs for low-income households and slow the state’s progress towards climate goals.

The new bill makes the state’s greenhouse gas emissions limits and climate goals non-binding for low-income and fixed-income households.

Wormser said that, though the bill is being “pitched as an energy affordability bill,” its proposal will also significantly limit the state’s initiatives “to get off fossil fuels.”

“If this became the law of the land, it would be really disastrous internationally because, really, Massachusetts and California are the big stalwarts left,” Wormser said. “We don’t want to fall to the anti-climate stuff that Trump is doing.”

The bill also plans to slash funding for Mass Save, a state-sponsored program that lowers energy costs for low-income households and provides incentives to move off fossil fuel energy. If enacted, the budget and funding for Mass Save would be capped at $4 billion, $500 million less than the program’s current budget.

Wormer said that the bill’s cost-saving programs are “actually counterproductive to affordability.”

Section 61 of the bill adds new affordability standards and benchmarks to current and future energy programs in Massachusetts.

“That’s actually going to probably increase the costs of supplying energy in Massachusetts,” Wormser said.

Wormser said that the current version of the energy bill misleadingly sets up an ultimatum between affordability or progress on clean energy goals.

“It’s sort of a false choice to do energy affordability versus making the transition to renewables and investing in things like energy conservation,” Wormser said. “Ultimately, it's making that move towards renewables and energy conservation that brings costs down.”