Rep. Stanley Supports Future of Heat Act

Rep. Stanley submitted written testimony to the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy in support of the Future of Heat Act. The bill, which received a public hearing on 11/2, would allow gas companies to deliver renewable thermal energy to our homes and replace leaky gas pipes with modern renewable thermal energy. The bill would also require gas companies to add more renewable thermal energy each year and prohibit them from charging ratepayers for new fossil fuel infrastructure beyond 2050. The Future of Heat Act also authorizes pipeline replacement funds to be used for non-emitting renewable energy infrastructure and securitized financing for geothermal technology.
On the consumer side, the bill assists residents with replacing appliances and upgrading buildings and prohibits property owners from passing on to tenants any costs for which they have been reimbursed. Workers who construct gas pipelines would be guaranteed their jobs to support the transition to thermal pipes or other aspects of a non-emitting renewable thermal infrastructure projects, under the bill. The Massachusetts Clean Energy Technology Center would be tasked with overseeing a retraining program and allocating funds to a training facility or a gas company for retraining of existing employees.