Still Not The Lorax

To the Editor:

Your August 30 editorial, criticizing Governor Sununu and other Republican leaders for opposing the creation of an "environmental justice" position at our regional grid operator ISO New England, quotes me as having described New Hampshire as "the regional pariah" because it has no binding decarbonization goal.  As the state's ratepayer advocate, I am writing to clarify my position.

Unique among my counterparts around the region, I declined to sign onto the request to have ratepayers fund an environmental justice position at ISO New England.  I think the money would be better spent on a position or two that would help the region's ratepayer advocates rein in runaway spending on transmission projects (we pay the highest transmission rates in the nation) and blunt the eternal efforts by generation owners to jigger the ISO New England wholesale market rules to enrich electricity magnates, unfairly, at ratepayer expense.

My reference to New Hampshire being a "regional pariah" merely expresses my sense that this is how our neighbors regard us in light of our refusal to adopt a binding decarbonization goal.  Whether they are right makes no difference to me; my job is to fight for ratepayers and I leave the arguments about environmental issues to others.  I sometimes disagree with Governor Sununu but in this instance I do not think it is fair of the Sentinel to malign him for his longstanding record of defending ratepayer interests.

Donald M. Kreis, Consumer Advocate