Op/Ed by Tom Burns, Dan Ciccariello, and Jacob Vaillancourt | Hull Municipal Light Commissioners

We are writing to you as members of the Hull Municipal Light Plant Board of Commissioners to discuss our critical electrical infrastructure and the necessary changes to our governance structure.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL PRESENTATION ON ARTICLE 37

The Hull Municipal Light Plant has been a vital community asset for more than a century, providing electricity at rates consistently lower than investor-owned utilities (IOUs). Our municipal ownership allows us to focus on serving you, the ratepayers, rather than maximizing profits for distant shareholders.

Not only do we offer lower rates, but we’ve also maintained a cleaner energy portfolio than most IOUs. The HMLP has a history of environmental leadership, with our energy resource mix approaching nearly 75% non-carbon emissions generation sources.

Despite our successes, Hull faces serious threats to our electrical infrastructure that require immediate attention. In the summer of 2023, Hull set a new peak electrical demand. According to projections, by 2027, we will exceed our current physical capacity. This timeline has likely accelerated with the recent construction of new condo and apartment complexes.

Our town’s power supply depends entirely on aging feeder lines that run through heavily wooded areas in Hingham. These lines, owned and maintained by National Grid, were built in the 1930s and are in poor condition. Hull currently has a pending lawsuit against National Grid for its failure to adequately maintain these critical lines.

When outages occur, they are often prolonged because the location of the lines makes repairs difficult, especially at night. This vulnerability creates serious public safety concerns, particularly during winter months. The HMLP in response has spent millions on temporary generators to ensure that any power interruptions during the colder months will be limited. This is a temporary measure, and a longer term solution needs to be developed.

The laws that set how municipal light plants are structured, run, and managed are covered by Massachusetts General Laws in Chapter 164. This law states clearly that funds collected by the light plant cannot be used to run the town and vice versa. MGL, Chapter 164, Section 56 vests exclusive managerial power over the municipal light department “in the board of selectmen, the mayor, or the municipal light board, if any, and their appointee, the general manager.” What this means is that state law expects and intends light plants to be operated under some arrangement that includes direct oversight. Unfortunately, in Hull, the light board is restricted to this role: “The municipal light board shall set rates and advise the town manager on general policy.” In place of a plant manager, we defer to a town manager.

That change occurred in 1993. Since then, when management of the light plant was transferred to the town manager’s office, there have been instances of fund misuse and misappropriation. According to state law, MLPs can augment the town’s tax base by contributing what is called a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT. These should only be made once a year following a light board’s review of the plant manager’s finance report. The payment should not be made unless the MLP completes a fiscal year with a surplus. However, this payment has been made every year since the governance change in 1993, with the current town manager committing them fractionally – once each month – without our review.

The MLP board has been unable to address this issue due to its limited authority, as defined by the town charter, which restricts its role to “setting rates and advising the town manager on general policy.”

The previous town manager used these funds to help balance the town’s budget. This may not reflect the current town manager’s intent, but the policy remains unchanged. Since the board ceded its authority in 1993, more than $7 million in PILOT payments have been made from the MLP to the town of Hull.

In Hull, the town manager also serves as the light plant manager, and the light board is limited to setting electric rates and providing advice. This dual-role arrangement creates subtle but serious conflicts of interest. Whereas the town manager is compelled to use any and all available funds to run the town to the highest standard achievable, a dedicated light plant manager is compelled to do the same for the light plant, but in a focused manner and with a discrete budget, one defined by payments for electric power.

In the long run, the priority for a town manager is clearly on the side of the town, versus any single department. Understandable, but messy.

Because she answers to the select board and not the light board, we have an appointed bureaucrat running an MLP with no effective oversight from its board. The light board has no authority to address performance issues with her performance as light plant manager, because she does not answer to us. If the light board has concerns, we cannot take action. We cannot hire or fire the manager.

Most MLP boards can. In fact, almost all – 36 out of the 41 towns that own a light plant – have a structure like the one we’re proposing Hull to adopt, and which align much more clearly what the provisions in state law were written to support.

The special management arrangement we have in Hull gave appointees and officials a much easier time executing some of the basic duties, like keeping rates low, but has left its electrical infrastructure vulnerable to convoluted or conflicted management decisions that prioritize the town budget at the expense of the light plant. It cannot be expected to prioritize the long-term interests of your MLP and its continued ability to serve all with electric power.

We are asking for you to support Article 37 at the upcoming town meeting to amend the structure of the Hull Municipal Light Board and restore it to its proper role under Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 164 and remove the town manager from the role of the light plant manager.

A “yes” vote is the first step in a longer process. Because Hull has a special act town charter, we need the state legislature’s approval to make these changes. Your vote will authorize the select board to file a home-rule petition with the state requesting this amendment to our charter.

This change is essential to ensure Hull has:

- A dedicated, full-time light plant manager focused solely on electrical needs

- Proper oversight of said manager

- A check on PILOT payments

- Transparency in plant operations

- Thorough, real, long-term preparation and planning for growing electrical demands

- Attention to threats, especially our inadequate supply lines in Hingham

- A direct line of accountability

We believe this structural change is crucial for securing Hull’s energy future. Our community deserves an electrical infrastructure that is reliable, sustainable, and well-managed. The current governance structure subverts basic democratic principles intended by state law. Your vote can help restore them by replacing the general-purpose town manager with a light plant manager accountable directly to your duly elected light board.

Like what you’re reading? Stay informed and support our work with a Hull Times subscription by clicking here.

Do you have an opinion to share? Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.