Bigger not better
By Patrick Mehr
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Large utilities like NStar or Unitil can afford heavy fines (“The Ticker” Nov. 13). Even if they face fines for poor emergency response, they still enjoy a monopoly and will therefore continue to charge us 20 percent to 50 percent more than municipal utilities.
Between January and September, NStar charged $100, but municipal utilities like Braintree, Peabody, Concord or Taunton charged only $70 for the same electricity. The Legislature must amend an obsolete, century-old statute to allow a municipal utility to replace a large one.