NEW SHOREHAM – Block Island, known for hosting the nation’s first offshore wind farm, has taken another step toward becoming more energy efficient.
On Tuesday, May 26, the R.I. Public Utilities Commission approved the Block Island Utility District’s energy efficiency plan, with program offerings that will become available in June. The program was developed in concert with the R.I. Office of Energy Resources.
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After the Block Island Wind Farm became operational in May of 2017, silencing the Block Island Power Company’s old diesel generators and providing renewable energy to the grid, the newly formed ratepayer-controlled utility district sought to find ways to reduce the cost and consumption of energy on the island.
“The Block Island Utility District is really excited that we are finally able to offer this to our members,” said Jeffery Wright, BIUD’s president. “Our members had been asking for this for years. Our partnership with the Office of Energy Resources over the years has been critical to ensuring that residents and business owners have innovative ways to reduce energy costs and participate in our shared clean energy future.”
Wright said BIUD, which was formed in June of 2017, and became operational on March 25, 2019, was set up as a nonprofit organization that freed up $700,000 in savings for its operation. “This allows us to channel funds for fixing wires and poles,” he said, instead of money being allocated for taxes, dividends, and profits. “We are ratepayer controlled with a board that is elected by its members. Whoever had the idea to buy the Block Island Power Company and form the utility district was on the right track.”
Wright noted that BIUD filed its rates case with the PUC in September of 2019 and it has “no rate impact to the utility district’s customers. There is zero increase in rates. This is just added to the list of the good things that we are doing.”
According to the state’s Office of Energy Resources, BIUD’s plan will help island residents and business owners reduce energy consumption and costs, shrink carbon footprints, as well as provide access to cost-effective energy efficiency measures, such as building weatherization, programmable thermostats and the replacement of aging and inefficient HVAC systems.
The plan includes home and business energy audits with direct install measures, such as installation of LED bulbs and smart power strips, rebates on appliances and an energy assessment outlining additional measures that can be used as an energy improvement roadmap; weatherization measures involving sealing and insulation to reduce loss of heated or cooled air; and rebates for air-source heat pumps, incentivizing use of electric heat pumps, energy-efficient replacements for aging HVAC systems that reduce the need for conventional heating fuels such as propane. This incentive is consistent with the recommendations stemming from Governor Gina M. Raimondo’s Heating Sector Transformation initiative.
“Rhode Island is a national clean energy leader and we are thrilled to support the Block Island Utility District in making comprehensive, cost-effective energy efficiency measures more accessible to the New Shoreham community,” said Nicholas S. Ucci, acting state energy commissioner. “Energy efficiency is foundational to our clean energy future – it is the least-cost means of reducing utility costs and greenhouse gas emissions, while supporting local investment and job growth. I want to thank the New Shoreham Town Council and the Block Island Utility District’s leadership team for collaborating with the State in fostering a cleaner, more affordable and reliable energy future for this important community.”
“I’m very proud of the people of Block Island,” said Sen. Susan Sosnowski, D-South Kingstown. “The town of New Shoreham continues to lead the way in energy efficiency and has become a benchmark the rest of the state should strive for. It has become a blueprint for low energy consumption and reduced carbon footprint.”
Cassius Shuman is a staff writer and researcher at the PBN. You may reach him at Shuman@PBN.com.
