The Commonwealth of Massachusetts —— DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES NOTICE OF FILING, PUBLIC HEARING AND REQUEST FOR COMMENTS
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts —— DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES NOTICE OF FILING, PUBLIC HEARING AND REQUEST FOR COMMENTS
D.P.U. 23-54 June 23, 2023
Petition of Massachusetts Electric Company and Nantucket Electric Company, each d/b/a National Grid, for approval of a mid-term modification to its 2022-2024 Three-Year Energy Efficiency Plan. ____________________________________________________________________________
On May 26, 2023, Massachusetts Electric Company and Nantucket Electric Company, each d/b/a National Grid (together, “Company”) filed a petition with the Department of Public Utilities (“Department”) seeking a mid-term modification to its 2022 2024 Three-Year Energy Efficiency Plan (“Three-Year Plan”) approved by the Department in 2022-2024 Three-Year Energy Efficiency Plans, D.P.U. 21-120 through D.P.U. 21-129 (2022). The Department docketed this matter as D.P.U. 23-54. The Company proposes to modify its Three-Year Plan to add a refrigerant management demonstration project for the commercial and industrial (“C&I”) sector. Through the demonstration project, the Company proposes to identify specific ways in which energy efficiency programs can be leveraged to reduce both energy use and greenhouse gas emissions from refrigerant leaks in grocery stores. In particular, the Company proposes to evaluate two measures: (1) the detection, measurement, and repair of leaks in refrigeration systems using a high global warming potential (“GWP”) refrigerant; and (2) the retrofit of existing refrigeration systems using a high GWP refrigerant with a lower-GWP refrigerant. The Company requests approval of a total proposed budget of $950,000 for the demonstration project. The Company proposes to transfer $950,000 from its existing Department-approved C&I sector budget for the current Three-Year Plan term to fund the demonstration project. If the Department approves the mid-term modification as proposed, including the Company’s request to use $950,000 from its existing C&I sector budget to fund the demonstration project, the Company states that customers will not experience any additional bill impacts related to the mid-term modification. The Department will conduct a virtual public hearing to receive comments on the Company’s filing. The Department will conduct the hearing using Zoom videoconferencing on Thursday, July 20, 2023, beginning at 2:00 p.m. Attendees can join by entering the link, https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88394071729, from a computer, smartphone, or tablet. No prior software download is required. For audio-only access to the hearing, attendees can dial in at (646) 931-3860 or 301 715 8592 (not toll free) and then enter the Meeting ID# 883 9407 1729. If you anticipate providing comments via Zoom during the public hearing, please send an email D.P.U. 23-54 Page 2 by Monday, July 17, 2023, to [email protected] with your name, email address or telephone number, and mailing address. Pursuant to Investigation by the Department of Public Utilities on its own Motion into Updating its Energy Efficiency Guidelines, D.P.U. 20-150-A at § 3.8.2.1 (2021), the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council has 60 days from the filing date to file any opposition to the demonstration project with the Department. Any person interested in commenting on this matter may submit written comments to the Department no later than the close of business (5:00 p.m.) on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Written comments from the public may be sent by email to [email protected], [email protected], and the Company’s attorney, Christopher Tuomala, Esq., at [email protected]. Please note that in the interest of transparency any comments will be posted to our website as received and without redacting personal information, such as addresses, telephone numbers, or email addresses. As such, consider the extent of information you wish to share when submitting comments. The Department strongly encourages public comments to be submitted by email. If, however, a member of the public is unable to send written comments by email, a paper copy may be sent to Mark D. Marini, Secretary, Department of Public Utilities, One South Station, Boston, Massachusetts, 02110. Any person who desires to participate otherwise in the evidentiary phase of this proceeding shall file a petition for leave to intervene no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, July 7, 2023. A petition for leave to intervene must satisfy the timing and substantive requirements of 220 CMR 1.03. Receipt by the Department constitutes filing and determines whether a petition has been timely filed. A petition filed late may be disallowed as untimely, unless good cause is shown for waiver under 220 CMR 1.01(4). To be allowed, a petition under 220 CMR 1.03(1) must satisfy the standing requirements of G.L. c. 30A, § 10. All responses to petitions to intervene must be filed by the close of business (5:00 p.m.) on the second business day after the petition to intervene was filed. All documents must be submitted to the Department in .pdf format by e-mail attachment to [email protected] and [email protected]. The text of the e-mail must specify: (1) the docket number of the proceeding (D.P.U. 23-54); (2) the name of the person or company submitting the filing; and (3) a brief descriptive title of the document. The electronic file name should identify the document but should not exceed 50 characters in length. Importantly, all large files submitted must be broken down into electronic files that do not exceed 20 MB. All documents submitted in electronic format will be posted on the Department’s website through our online File Room as soon as practicable (enter “23-54”) at: https://eeaonline.eea.state.ma.us/DPU/Fileroom/dockets/bynumber. In addition, one copy of all written comments and petitions to intervene should be emailed to the Company’s attorney, Christopher Tuomala, Esq., at [email protected]. The filing and all subsequent related documents submitted to the Department or issued by the Department will be available on the Department’s website as referenced above as soon as is practicable. To the extent a person or entity wishes to submit comments or intervene in accordance with this Notice, electronic submission, as detailed above, is sufficient. To request D.P.U. 23-54 Page 3 materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), contact the Department’s ADA coordinator at [email protected]. For further information regarding the Company’s filing, please contact the Company’s attorney, Christopher Tuomala, Esq., at [email protected] or (351) 666-7799. For further information regarding this Notice, please contact Elyssa Klein, Hearing Officer, Department of Public Utilities, at [email protected].