The faith communities in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover have come together in support of all residents at this time of crisis. They have experienced all the frustrations that have been reported each day – poor customer service from Columbia Gas, contradictory messages, confusing claims, few translators, so many delays with temporary housing, etc. They are asking why Columbia Gas didn’t install temporary heat rather than ship people to bare hotel rooms far away, things that have been thoroughly covered in the press.
This is not the first time Columbia Gas has faced this problem. There was a similar explosion in West Virginia which leads me to believe that there should be a method to deal with potential explosions. There is no strategy to supply homes with heat immediately. This is an urgent priority and alternatives are available with temporary installations of mini-splits that can warm up the whole house instead of having to leave their homes and spend in costly hotels.
Columbia Gas is boasting about the $6M invested in stoves, water heaters and heating equipment. They are offering “a stove” to each household to replace the damaged one and if anyone refuses taking it, opting for buying a new one on their own, they will only credit them for the value of what was offered, not the real value of what they lost.
The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2008 requires a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 baseline emissions by 2020, and 80% reduction by 2050.
The Green Communities Act calls on Utilities to reduce emissions through residential energy efficiency programs and progressively increasing the percentage of clean energy they purchase.
I am not a scientist and won’t get into the argument of whether global warming is real or not. Just observing the changes above tells me that the appliances provided by Columbia Gas shows that residents soon will be in violation of those laws and in need of new ones. These emissions reduction, energy efficiency and clean energy goals must be integrated into the new infrastructure that is now being built.
Columbia Gas is not following through on a promise to the public and Attorney General’s office to provide energy efficient heating systems, hot water heaters and appliances in the recovery. Residents have been told to accept appliances that are not Energy Star rated nor on the MassSave list, as they follow a “block” approach for delivering equipment.
Members of the faith community representing Andover, North Andover and Lawrence met with Columbia Gas President and COO Stephen Bryant, and he estimated that 75% of residents will not be receiving energy efficient equipment. They are also concerned that boilers will not be right-sized for homes and thus will contribute to energy inefficiencies. Boilers big enough for a multi-family building are being installed in single homes thus causing residents to spend more for fuel.
Clearly, this not only saddles consumers with unnecessary ongoing monthly costs, but does nothing to further the state and utility goals to reduce carbon emissions. This is mandated by the Global Warming Solutions Act, the Green Communities Act, and nto the three-year energy efficiency plan just released by the utilities. Considering this, along with the sobering Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change report made public recently on the catastrophic climate change ahead if carbon emissions aren’t curbed, the representatives of the faith communities believe Columbia Gas must do better.
