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This Month's
Fuel Prices
at a glance
*All m
onthly average costs based on
December rates.
Check out
to stay up to date on current price trends!
Electricity and Natural Gas rates include delivery and supply service charges (to residential customers) and Gross Earnings Tax.
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Events/Meetings:
Energy Efficiency and Resource Management Council
Executive Committee
Thursday, Feb. 2,
1:00-2:30pm
1 Capitol Hill
Second Floor
Conference Room B
Providence, RI
Full Council
Thursday, Feb. 16,
3:30-5:30pm
1 Capitol Hill
Second Floor
Conference Room A
Providence, RI
Public Utilities Commission
9:30am
89 Jefferson Blvd.
Hearing Room A
Warwick, RI
RI Farm Energy Workshop
Thursday, Feb. 9
11:00pm-1:00pm
Tiverton Library
35 Roosevelt Ave.
Tiverton, RI
Distributed Generation Board
Monday, Feb 27,
4:00-5:30 p.m.
1 Capitol Hill
Second Floor
Conference Room A
Providence, RI
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Rhode Island charts path to greenhouse gas reduction
The Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council (EC4) achieved a major milestone last month, when it formally adopted and submitted its Rhode Island Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Plan to Governor Raimondo and House & Senate leadership.
The plan, which is a product of a year's worth of technical analysis and stakeholder input, presents pathways and policy recommendations for reducing state greenhouse gas emissions.
According to the report, Rhode Island is already poised to meet and exceed the state's near-term target of 10% below 1990 levels by 2020.
Meeting longer-term targets will require collective work on the part of residents, businesses and community to invest in solutions such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, heating and transportation alternatives.
The plan proposes three areas of policy implementation for decision-makers to consider: 1) building upon state success by expanding existing policies to mitigate emissions, 2) enabling markets and communities to remove barriers to clean energy market growth and 3) leveraging regional collaboration by working cooperatively with Rhode Island's New England neighbors to seek scalable and cost-effective solutions.
The full report is available
here.
National Governors Association selects Rhode Island for electric power modernization program
Rhode Island will participate in a new effort to modernize its electric power sector, via an exclusive National Governors Association (NGA) training program. Rhode Island, Kentucky, Oregon and Washington were the only four states selected in a competitive application process.
Through the project, state teams will attend a training conference to design action plans for fostering grid modernization, resiliency and environmental stewardship.
Led by the Office of Governor Gina M. Raimondo, the R.I. Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, the Office of Energy Resources, and the Public Utilities Commission, will work with National Grid and other stakeholders to develop draft regulatory recommendations in four areas:
- The future utility business model.
- The potential for advanced meter and communications technologies to add customer value.
- Electrification of heating and transportation.
- Distribution system planning that is more transparent.
New technologies, such as rooftop solar systems, have created more opportunities for customers to control the way they use energy and for the electric system to offer cleaner, more reliable energy at lower costs. These changes hold significant implications for the relationship between customers and their utility service provider.
Rhode Island's grid modernization initiative works toward providing Rhode Islanders with the right tools and guidance to take advantage of these opportunities for cleaner, more reliable energy at the lowest possible cost.
NEED Project prepares teachers to build energy science into their curriculums
Local teachers from 13 schools, representing grades 4-12, gathered in Scituate High School in December to receive curriculum materials and lesson plans to help them teach the science of energy.
The National Energy Education Development Project (NEED) hosted the event with support from the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources.
Teachers participated in a variety of activities including experimenting with the NEED Project's Science of Energy Kit and learning about the different forms and sources of energy used to generate electricity. They also built an "energy house," which teaches students about efficiency, conservation and economic returns by using materials to insulate a cardboard house and then test its effectiveness.
Shannon Donovan, a science teacher from Scituate High School led the workshop. Shannon has been involved with NEED for 13 years and her students have won the National Senior Level School of the Year award four times. She loves the philosophy of "kids teaching kids" that NEED embraces.
"I think we learn effectively when we prepare to teach something to others," said Shannon. "If students must apply new knowledge to an immediate task, their depth of understanding and retention is increased."
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