Just a reminder about tonight’s free virtual Heat Pumps 101 event at 7pm tonight here:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87280685757

If the Zoom is at capacity or you are having trouble entering, you can watch live on the Thomas Crane Library’s YouTube Channel. YouTube viewers can email info@quincycan.org to ask questions – we will monitor the account throughout the event.

QCAN members voted for a second time to match donations our members and friends make to Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station (FRRACS). FRRACS has been working for seven years to stop Enbridge from building and operating its North Weymouth fracked-gas compressor station. QCAN will match donations through the end of 2021 up to a $500 total match.

You can make donations directly to FRRACS on nocompressor.com; please write “towards QCAN matching grant” under “additional information.”  You can also mail a check to FRRACS, P.O. Box 485, South Weymouth, MA 02190 with “towards QCAN matching grant” in the memo line.

If you’d like to receive a tax deduction for your donation, please donate instead to Community Action Works with the note “towards QCAN matching grant for FRRACS.”

FRRACS has been on the frontlines of fighting climate change for many years.  Thank you for supporting their work, QCAN members and friends.  Keep up the great work, FRRACS!

The Department of Public Utilities will hold a public hearing on Quincy’s aggregation plan (docket # 21-05) on Thursday, July 22 at 7pm on Zoom.

This plan would automatically raise the percentage of renewables in Quincy consumers’ electricity mix unless they opt out – and will be likely around the same price (or even cheaper) since it’s bought in bulk.  QCAN encourages the DPU to move quickly to approve this plan.  If DPU approves it within the next couple of months, the city’s consultant would put the electricity supply out to bid for a program start this winter, which is usually the best time to start a program due to seasonal market fluctuations.

You can attend the Zoom hearing on Thursday, July 22, 2021 at 7 PM via Zoom Meeting ID# 997 0553 2043.  If you want to comment during the public hearing, please send an email by pm on Tuesday, July 20, 2021, to stephanie.mealey@mass.gov with your name, email address, and mailing address.

All written comments or other documents should be submitted to the Department in PDF format by e-mail attachment to dpu.efiling@mass.gov and stephanie.mealey@mass.gov. In addition, all written comments should be emailed to counsel for the City’s agent, Scott Mueller, Esq., at scott@sjmuellerlaw.com.  The text of the e-mail must specify: (1) the docket number of the proceeding (D.P.U. 21-05); (2) the name of the person or company submitting the filing; and (3) a brief descriptive title of the document. The e-mail must also include the name, title, and telephone number of a person to contact in the event of questions about the filing.

Green electricity aggregation is one of the most important things we can do as a city to reduce our carbon impact.  Once it’s approved, QCAN will put in full effort, in collaboration with the city’s consultant Good Energy, to get our fellow residents to “opt up” to 100% renewables in their mix. It’s an issue we’ve been involved with since 2018.