With many Rhode Islanders complaining about skyrocketing energy bills, a new legislative commission is starting to scrutinize the state’s clean energy programs and incentives for their cost-effectiveness and whether they're benefiting the environment and residents’ health.
The eight-person Special Legislative Commission to Study Renewable Energy Programs began its work on May 6 as the state looks to meet its first-in-the-nation goal of meeting 100% of the state’s electricity demand with renewable energy by 2033.
The question of cost-effectiveness comes after Rhode Island ratepayers saw utility bills spike as much as 25% each of the last two winters.
Rhode Island has numerous programs to encourage residential and commercial adoption of renewable energy sources, but officials acknowledged some of those incentives have not been closely examined to see if they’re working as intended since being launched.
Now, Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski, D-South Kingstown, who introduced a resolution to create the commission last year, is chairperson of the panel charged with recommending ways to improve the overall costs of the renewable energy programs while maintaining the economic, environmental and health benefits.
“What was good 10 to 15 years ago isn’t necessarily good for ratepayers today,” Sosnowski said during the inaugural commission meeting. “That’s all the more reason to have this commission. We need data-driven legislation so we can present it this session to members of the General Assembly.”
Nicholas Ucci, director of government affairs for the utility company Rhode Island Energy, is one of the eight commission members. In an opening statement at the May 6 meeting, Ucci said about 21% of a typical residential electric bill could be attributed to “public policy costs” and taxes related to state-mandated programs such as renewable energy and efficiency initiatives.
“We have [renewable] laws that have been on the books for a long time,” Ucci said. “All of these policies, I believe, are well-intentioned and designed to drive important economic and environmental goals. But ratepayer costs have grown.”
Clean energy efficiency programs, primarily paid for by charges on utility bills, are meant to cut energy use and save money. In 2023 alone, Rhode Islanders paid $335.5 million into these programs, according to the R.I. Office of Energy Resources.
R.I. Division of Public Utilities and Carriers Administrator Linda George, another commission member, acknowledged that some “argue that the state’s clean energy programs are the cause of these high energy prices,” but she added that she believed those programs can’t solely be blamed.
“This past winter, Rhode Island ratepayers made it clear that they are struggling tremendously to manage their electric bills,” George said. “That’s a very good reason for the creation of this commission.”
A look back at past renewable laws enacted over a decade ago shows at least three programs that could be problematic for ratepayers now in 2025.
The 2004 Renewable Energy Standard required utilities to get part of their power from renewables. But as the demand for renewable energy grew, the cost of renewable energy credits that utilities can buy to meet the requirement also increased. Those costs were passed to the ratepayers.
In 2003, the Rhode Island Renewable Energy Fund was formed, adding fixed fees to electric bills to support clean energy projects. Because the fees were fixed and didn't adjust based on project performance or changing market conditions, over time, the costs on customers' bills grew.
Passed in 2009, the Long-Term Contracting Standard for Renewable Energy law made utilities sign long-term deals with renewable energy developers. While it aimed to stabilize prices as technology improved and renewable energy became cheaper, those old contracts forced utilities – and their customers – to keep paying above-market prices.
The commission is in the process of scheduling its next meeting among the eight committee members, but no date has been set as of yet. It was also not immediately clear when the commission would submit its recommendations to the Senate. The original resolution set a deadline of February 2025.
The other five commission members are Sen. John P. Burke, D-West Warwick, Sen. Alana M. DiMario, D-North Kingstown, Sen. Robert Britto, D-East Providence, R.I. Department of Environmental Management Director Terry Gray, and R.I. Office of Energy Resources Administrator Karen Bradbury.
Sosnowski ended the inaugural meeting by calling for presentations to be made by George, Ucci, Bradbury and Gray at the next commission meeting. Sosnowski did not return requests for comment.
