Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Reading Municipal Light Department offering two new eco-friendly options for its customers.
- BUSINESS
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Tuesday, June 12, 2012
The following is an announcement from Reading Municipal Light Department: Reading Municipal Light Department (RMLD) has two environmentally friendly choices for customers who want to support renewable energy and save energy at home. The first option is our GREEN CHOICE program which offers all customers an active choice to benefit the environment by supporting electricity production from renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, biogas and biomass. Those who make the GREEN CHOICE voluntarily pay as little as $3 a month to support the production of electricity from renewable energy sources in New England. Although it is impossible to distinguish and deliver energy to specific homes or businesses, customers who make …
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Reading Municipal Light recently announced plans to sell portion of its renewable energy credits.
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Wednesday, June 6, 2012
The following is an announcement from Reading Municipal Light Department: Reading Municipal Light Department (RMLD) General Manager Vinnie Cameron reported that on June 1, RMLD sold $344,470 worth of Class 1 Connecticut Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), representing 7,030 MWh of renewable-energy-generated electricity, as instructed by the RMLD Board of Commissioners at their May 30 Board meeting. After paying a 1% broker commission, RMLD will receive $341,025 from EDF (Electricite De France) Trading. The sale was done at the direction of the RMLD Board of Commissioners, who voted 3-1-1 to sell 40% of the RECs and retire the remaining 60%. The retired RECs have an estimated worth of less than $3,000. RMLD Board Chairman Phil Pacino …
Friday, June 1, 2012
Commission Mary Ellen O'Neill resigns on May 31, citing need to reduce outside commitments.
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Friday, June 1, 2012
The following is an announcement from Reading Municipal Light Department: Commissioner Mary Ellen O’Neill resigned from the Reading Municipal Light Department (RMLD) Board of Commissioners on May 31. She cited the necessity to reduce her outside commitments. RMLD General Manager Vinnie Cameron said, “We thank Mary Ellen for her commitment to RMLD and industry-wide issues and for her tireless efforts in bringing conservation and environmental concerns to the forefront during her tenure on the Board.” RMLD Board Chair Phil Pacino said “Mary Ellen brought her views of diversity to the Commission and was an asset to our Board. We will miss her.” Since she was first elected to the Board in 2006, Ms. O’Neill served as chairperson for several …
Friday, February 24, 2012
Some say that vote highlights a breakdown in procedure and process regarding the gathering of public input.
The Reading Municipal Light Department’s decision to retire its Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) may be headed for another round of debate after the RMLD Citizens’ Advisory Board voted 5-0 to revisit the issue at a meeting last week. The vote comes after the CAB voted 4-1 at an earlier meeting to back the decision of the RMLD Board of Commissioners to sell the utility’s RECs. The RMLD’s decision touched off heated debate, with many concerned citizens wondering why the utility would walk away from as much as $32 million dollars in revenue that could be gained through the sale of the certificates. Now, some are saying that the perceived backpedaling by the CAB on this issue demonstrates a breakdown of proper process and procedure. The …
Monday, February 13, 2012
Three Lynnfield students among the 14 from the area who won prizes in this year's annual R
- SCHOOLS
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Monday, February 13, 2012
Fourteen elementary school students, including three from Lynnfield, were recently honored at a ceremony at Reading Municipal Light Department for their prize-winning entries in the Annual RMLD T-shirt Art Contest. A first, second and third place winner from each town and two honorable mentions from the Town of Reading were selected in the contest that encourages third and fourth graders to be more energy conscious, to be aware of their own impact on the environment and to be safe around electricity. The annual contest coincides with RMLD’s annual Public Power Week/Energy Awareness Month activities. Reading third graders and fourth graders from North Reading, Wilmington and Lynnfield submitted entries in this year’s contest. The winners …
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Send letters to the editor and Lynnfield-related opinion pieces to william.laforme@patch.com.
- OPINION
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Last night, the entire North Reading Board of Selectmen attended the RMLD Board meeting to request reconsideration of their decision to retire Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). The initial decision was made with severely limited input from the ratepayers in all communities and it was made in direct conflict with a formal RMLD Board policy to minimize rates. The five Selectmen made it a priority to appear in person, even cancelling prior commitments, once they were made aware of the impact of the RMLD Board’s 3-2 vote to forego $31.7 million in estimated revenue to benefit ratepayers over the next 14 years. Lengthy public comment and information from the RMLD Board was not enough to convince the North Reading Selectmen that retiring …
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Send op-ed pieces and letters to the editor to william.laforme@patch.com.
As you all, hopefully, are aware, the RMLD Board of Commissioners recently voted to retire, rather than sell, the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) associated with two current long term contracts with renewable energy projects, specifically Swift River and Concord Steam. The financial impact of this decision is that approximately half a million dollars of revenue will be forfeited for FY12 and potentially many more millions will be forfeited in the coming fiscal years. Is this okay with you? The differentiation between the generation sources of energy lies with its creation, rather than its consumption. New England has a shared power GRID. Electricity generated from many different sources – nuclear, waste, wood, water, oil, etc. - …
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
At issue: Reading Municipal Light's decision to retire its renewable energy credits.
Recent letters and articles in local newspapers and on line discussions have highlighted the Reading Municipal Light Department (RMLD) January 5th Board of Directors vote to sell the Renewable Energy Credits (REC) ratepayers have earned as a byproduct of purchasing power from renewable resources, such as hydroelectric, solar and wood-based steam electric power. The credits are freely traded, purchased by companies with a mandate to renewable energy. A recent package distributed by the RMLD Board contains meeting minutes, commentary, additional tables and data related to the REC discussion. Included in that package are two different analyses of RMLD current and future renewable credit values. While this issue has received some attention …
AnonLikeU
3:59 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The RMLD Board of Commissioners recently voted to retire RECs in FY12 with an approximate value of $400,000-$500,000. For upcoming fiscal years, our portfolio of RECs could be worth many more millions of dollars. It is my belief that this complicated issue was not properly vetted with all the towns, businesses and customers served by RMLD. Virtually all of the board discussion took place during … more ›