The cost of our electricity is broken into two separate and distinct parts, supplier charges (around 15 cents) plus delivery charges (around 10 cents) costing us 25 cents for every kilowatt hour of electricity we use.
The cost of our electricity is broken into two separate and distinct parts, supplier charges (around 15 cents) plus delivery charges (around 10 cents) costing us 25 cents for every kilowatt hour of electricity we use. NStar delivers electricity from the Cape Light Compact (CLC), the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative (CVEC), and Viridian, three of the many electricity suppliers in Massachusetts.
On Jan. 29, Vineyard Power Cooperative (VP) along with its partner OffshoreMV, bid on and won a lease to develop offshore wind-generated electricity in the federal waters 14 miles south of the Vineyard. VP’s portion is five megawatts. Within two or three years NStar will also be delivering this electricity to its customers.
By the end of 2014, CVEC successfully installed 28 megawatts of clean solar generated electricity for many towns on Cape Cod and the Vineyard. One of those towns, Tisbury, locked in a supply rate of 9.13 cents per kilowatt-hour for its electricity for 20 years.
The way the law currently reads, CVEC can only supply electricity to towns and municipalities, not individuals.
Unlike the spike in my supplier charge to a little over 15 cents per kilowatt hour caused by an increased cost of natural gas, Tisbury’s supply charge will never go up due to an increase in the cost of the fuel.
Massachusetts has over 7,000 megawatts of installed fossil-generated electricity.
CVEC’s current 18 megawatts supplied to its member towns/municipalities, and VP’s future five megawatts for supply to its individual members on Martha’s Vineyard is a drop in the bucket needed to replace Massachusetts’s 7,000 megawatts of installed fossil fuel.
Massachusetts private companies have not stepped up to the plate in developing large solar or wind projects. It appears they are leaving this challenge up to cooperatives. Others in the state should be allowed to expeditiously form cooperatives and produce as much unencumbered clean electricity as possible and not be delayed in getting their electricity interconnected to the grid.
The best way to accomplish this is with revised legislation.
Make your voice heard by contacting Sen. Dan Wolf ([email protected], 617-722-1570) and Rep. Timothy Madden ([email protected], 617-722-2810).
Peter Cabana
Vineyard Haven
Comments
The spike in your electric
BG EdgThe spike in your electric bill of a 50% increase is NOT due to "an increased cost of natural gas". The price of natural gas has FALLEN to all time lows. The spike is caused by the failure to approve natural gas pipelines that would bring the cheap clean gas to New England to heat homes and power electric generating plants. Those of us who heat our off-island homes are enjoying monthly rate reductions due to the abundance of natural gas. Just wait till its legislated that you MUST buy electricity from the offshore windfarms. You'll be looking in the rearview mirror wishing you could buy electricity for todays prices.
Perhaps its time for common sense to prevail and allow the natural gas pipelines to bring our domestically produced clean natural gas to the region, rather than political posturing for special interests attempting to build expensive offshore wind farms.
Natural gas may burn a bit
Elizabeth Toomey West TisburyNatural gas may burn a bit cleaner than coal but it is far from clean when the environmental effects of cracking are taken into account.
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