The governors of all six New England states have signed an agreement that aims to lower energy costs and improve electricity reliability.
Governor Maggie Hassan says the agreement - which she calls a "mission statement" - commits to expanding infrastructure like transmission lines and natural gas pipelines, which would help lower energy costs in the whole region. “But we want to make sure we do that in a way that really honors each state’s needs, and doesn’t disproportionately or inappropriately burden the people of any one state,” said Hassan in a cell phone interview on Friday.
The announcement comes at a time when the governors of Southern New England, with their more aggressive renewable energy goals, are especially concerned with rising energy rates. But some in Northern New England are worried about becoming a thoroughfare for renewable electricity destined for Boston and Hartford.
“I just think it’s a really positive an encouraging development,” said Hassan.
She wasn’t the only one. Upon its release both officials from the Northern Pass, which has proposed a 187-mile power line in New Hampshire, and the Conservation Law Foundation, which opposes the project, hailed it as a step forward.
