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T
he Utility Subcommittee has been
active in advancing the HBRAMA’s
agenda of receiving improved service
from utility companies. Over the past
quarter, the Subcommittee has continued
its dialogue with National Grid (NG),
and we are initiating a discussion with
Eversource (N-Star).
The Utility Subcommittee met at National
Grid headquarters with company officials on May 19th to discuss
ongoing problems with scheduling gas work. The Home Builders
and Remodelers Association of Massachusetts was represented
by John Smolak, Government Affairs Committee Chair; Benjamin
Fierro, HBRAMA Counsel; Brian Lussier of Comfort Homes; Jeff
Rhuda of Symes Associates; and Russ Leonard of Leonard Electric
and past NEBA president. We were very gratified that Angela
O’Connor, Chairperson of the Department of Public Utilities,
attended the meeting, adding emphasis to our concerns. National
Grid was represented by NG Massachusetts President Marcy Reed,
Marie Jordan, Senior Vice President of US Gas Operations, and Brian
Schuster, head of customer fulfillment for the organization.
A number of positives came from the meeting. First, Brian Lussier
suggested that NG allow our contractors to complete connections for
house services to free up NG and its subcontractors from that work.
This proposal, which would save valuable time in our subdivisions,
was very well received by NG which indicated they would look
into fast tracking the approval. Second, NG stated that it is moving
forward on a proposal to allow our contractors to sleeve laterals at
our developments. Once again, this proposal should be moving
forward shortly. Third, we were also informed that NG has hired
five new engineers in May to shorten the design phase lead-time of
proposed gas work. We encouragedNational Grid to consider adding
new vendors to its list of subcontractors, and officials encouraged
us to forward names of any companies that might be interested in
getting certified for street work. Lastly, we discussed the possibility of
the State encouraging communities to increase the window during
which street work could be completed by two weeks in the Spring
and in the Fall to facilitate work in our developments.
We will continue to work toward holding utilities accountable for
more timely work on our homes and developments. In that vein,
we have begun outreach with state officials to engage Eversource
(N-Star) in similar discussions this Summer and Fall. We will also
update you on our continued progress as new information is received.
Utility Subcommittee Seeks Shorter
Service Time Frames with Gas Utilities
By Mark Leff, Senior Vice President, Salem Five, and Chair, HBRAMUtilities Subcommittee
A F FA I R S
Government
by Mark H. Leff
