Natural Gas Pipeline Dispute Goes to Massachusetts Supreme Court

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is expected to rule on the controversial issue of whether utilities can charge ratepayers a surcharge to underwrite the construction of privately owned new natural gas pipelines, according to a recent article in the Boston Herald.

“Lawyers for the state 
Department of Public Utilities sparred yesterday with attorneys representing 
Attorney General Maura Healey’s office, the Conservation Law Foundation and a liquid natural gas company, debating the DPU’s authority to allow electricity companies to buy natural gas pipeline capacity and bill ratepayers for the added cost,” the Herald wrote. “Unlike most cases, the AG’s office was on the opposite side of the administration, this time in its role as a ratepayer advocate.”

David Ismay, an attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation, said the DPU’s plan would put ratepayers on the hook for natural gas infrastructure, the article states.

To read the Boston Herald article, click here.

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