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6 Worcester Business Journal | April 7, 2025 | wbjournal.com Helping our clients focus on what counts Providing professional services and industry insights tailored for your personal and business needs. CONTACT US: 100 Front Street, 16th Floor, Worcester, MA 01608 info@citrincooperman.com C I T R I N C O O P E R M A N . C O M "Citrin Cooperman" is the brand name under which Citrin Cooperman Advisors LLC and Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP, independently owned entities, provide professional services in an alternative practice structure in accordance with applicable professional standards. Reporting category for his two-part series on the Canal District's real estate transformation. Casey received two third place recognitions, one in the Transportation Reporting category for "Parking paraly- sis" on the impact of Worcester's parking requirements on real estate develop- ment and one for Arts & Entertainment Reporting for "Final act?," an article examining the difficulties in bringing Central Massachusetts' disused theater spaces back to life. Former WBJ Staff Writer and freelanc- er Katherine Hamilton won a third place award for General News Story with her two-part series on Worcester's changing media landscape. Hamilton, a graduate of Clark University in Worcester, now works as a real-time news reporter at e Wall Street Journal, according to a March 25 article from Talking Biz News. WBJ was awarded a third place award for Special Section or Editorial Supple- ment for its 2024 Power 100 issue. WBJ's seven awards at this year's cer- emony come aer the publication won eight awards at the 2023 New England Better Newspaper Competition. Wholesale power prices in region rose 300% in February Ratepayers know too well that Febru- ary was a rough month for retail utility bills in New England, marked by soaring costs that threw household and business budgets out of whack. Regional grid operator ISO-New En- gland put a number on the pain for the wholesale side of the picture Wednesday, reporting that the average real-time electricity price was $126.40 per mega- watt-hour in February 2025, up 301% compared to February 2024. In addition, January's real-time price average was only 6.4% lower than February's elevated average. Consumer demand and fuel costs drive wholesale electricity prices in New England, and both are up. Natural gas was used to generate 55% of the power produced in 2024 by New England's power plants, and the natu- ral-gas-fired power plants usually set the price of wholesale electricity, ISO-New England reported, noting the average natural gas price per therm in February was $14.62, up 319% from the February 2024 average. We are not planning layoffs In early March, UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester announced an immediate hiring freeze and upcoming layoffs, following a nationwide trend of universities hitting the brakes on hiring initiatives amid federal funding uncertainties. As economic officials are increasingly concerned about a possible economic slowdown this year, the Central Massachusetts Business Confidence Index fell nearly 10 points into pessimistic territory, and state Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus warned uncertainty in the economy could deter real estate investment. When polled online, the plurality of WBJ readers said their companies were unlikely to lay off workers or freeze hiring anytime soon. Are you planning to freeze hiring or lay off workers in the near future? Yes, we already have this year. 17% Yes, we will in the next few months. 12% No, but it could be a possibility this year depending on the economy. 26% No, nor do we think we will. 45% Continued from previous page W