Legis H.2849 S.1940 FUTURE Somerville DRAFT Resolution 2019-05-27 — File 208893

CITY OF SOMERVILLE RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF AN ACT FOR UTILITY TRANSITION TO USING RENEWABLE ENERGY (FUTURE) HOUSE H.2849 / SENATE S.1940 WHEREAS: natural gas is mostly methane, a greenhouse gas that is 84 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period; and WHEREAS: gas leaks pose and health and safety risk, and can kill trees, which are valuable town property and costly to replace; and WHEREAS: gas leaks in the state have not been significantly reduced since passage of Ch, 149, Acts of 2014, An Act Relative To Natural Gas Leaks, and ratepayers still pay for lost gas; and WHEREAS: House H.2849 / Senate S.1940: “An Act for Utility Transition to Using Renewable Energy (FUTURE)” will (i) enable the City to better manage road construction, public safety and repair of gas leaks with the gas company, (ii) give the City a stronger voice at the Department of Public Utilities in working with the gas company, (iii) permit the City to deploy its own local thermal renewable energy, and (iv) allow the City to recover the cost of trees killed by gas; and WHEREAS: the FUTURE Act provides incentives to gas companies to invest in and provide renewable thermal energy at an acceptable cost to ratepayers, improve energy efficiency, distribution and storage, implement more effectively the green house reduction mandate of the Global Warming Solutions Act, and promote public health and safety; and WHEREAS: the FUTURE Act’s promotion of renewable thermal energy aids the City’s 2050 Carbon Neutrality Goals; NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: that the Somerville City Council, as duly elected representatives, strongly support strongly support House H.2849 / Senate S.1940 to improve utility performance and reliability and to transition to renewable energy; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: that the Somerville City Clerk forward a copy of this resolution to the elected delegation of Representatives and Senators in the State Legislature for Somerville, well as House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, Senate President Karen E. Spilka and Governor Baker. Somerville City Council By _________________________ City Clerk Dated: __________ Dated: __________