Worcester Business Journal

14 Worcester Business Journal • February 1, 2016 www.wbjournal.com B A N K I N G & F I N A N C E << We make getting down t o business easier. We ' 11 mind your banking. CHARLTON | HOLDEN | NORTH OXFORD | SOUTHBRIDGE SPENCER | STURBRIDGE | WEBSTER | WORCESTER Let Business Maker TM save you time and money. Get back to work. Commercial Loans Deposit and Savings Accounts Remote Deposit Service Payroll Services Business Bank N' Pay SM Each depositor is insured by the FDIC to at least $250,000. All deposits above the FDIC insurance amount are insured by the Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF). Worcester Business Journal's MANUFACTURING SUMMIT & Excellence Awards MANUFACTURING SUMMIT& Worcester Business Journal's Excellence Awards MANUFACTURING S U M M I T & Worcester Business Journal's EXCELLENCE AWARDS MANUFACTURING S U M M I T & Worcester Business Journal's EXCELLENCE AWARDS WE WILL BE RECOGNIZING MANUFACTURING COMPANIES IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES: For questions, contact Brad Kane at bkane@wbjournal.com This spring the Worcester Business Journal will be recognizing some of the area's top manufacturing firms with our first ever Central Mass "Manufacturing Excellence Awards". Winners will be profiled in the special section on Manufacturing in our March 28 edition, and we'll hold the awards and recognition ceremony after a keynote address and panel discussion on manufacturing in mid April. NOMINATION DEADLINE: Friday, February 12, 2016 n GENERAL EXCELLENCE – C ompanies that are the best of the best. • Under 25 employees • 25 -99 employees • Over 100 employees n EMERGING MANUFACTURER n PRODUCT INNOVATION AND DESIGN n WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTIVITY n SUSTAINABILITY/GREEN PRACTICES n COLLABORATION IN MANUFACTURING Visit www.wbjournal.com/manufacturing for full details and nomination form. Supporting Sponsor A federal energy regulatory agen- cy has determined the ratemak- ing process for New England's electricity transmission prices lacks adequate transparency and is unjust and is working on changes that could ultimately lower energy rates for Massachusetts consumers and busi- nesses. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) launched a pro- ceeding last month to develop proto- cols and formulas to ensure the trans- mission ratemaking process is fair. Experts say the proceeding is some- what rare and could lead to lower trans- mission costs, which are ultimately paid by Massachusetts businesses and residents on their electricity bills to National Grid and Eversource Energy. It could also lead to a refund for whole- sale transmission customers. The rates in question are charged by the owners of high-voltage, interstate transmission towers — mainly electric utilities — and paid by electricity dis- tributors. The rate formula is complex, but in general, it includes costs related to facilities, operations and mainte- nance, salaries and taxes. Transmission rates are just one com- ponent of electricity costs. For example, transmission accounts for $18.70 out of $145 billed to an average Eversource Energy residential customer each month. High transmission costs Across New England, average trans- mission costs are disproportionately higher than in some other regions of the country, accounting for nearly 15 percent of total electricity costs, accord- ing an October FERC filing, which shows the rates grew 37 percent between 2010 and 2014. FERC's order doesn't mention the region's high transmission prices, but concludes that the rate formulas lack detail that would help transmission customers and others determine how certain costs are derived and whether they are reasonably and prudently incurred. The agency said the current ratemak- ing process has left open the possibility that transmission owners are recover- ing more costs than formulas allow, and that it lacks adequate procedures for stakeholders to challenge the rates when they are submitted to FERC. The FERC action has drawn the interest of official consumer advocates from Massachusetts and other New England states eager for more insight into the region's quickly rising trans- mission costs. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy in June asked FERC to force National Grid and Eversource to refund $180 million to ratepayers and cut future electricity bills by $74 mil- lion each year, because – she argued – transmission rates are nearly 40 percent higher than they should be. Joe Rosenthal, a principal attorney at the Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel, said he hopes FERC's action will give OCC and other consumer advocates the means to carefully exam- ine the ratemaking process. "We want to get closer to the real numbers of what [transmission own- ers'] real cost is," Rosenthal said, adding that he thought FERC's order was "appropriately aggressive." FERC's scrutiny of transmission rate protocols in the ISO-New England region follows several similar actions in recent years in the Midwest and central southern U.S. "They already have initiated similar proceedings in other parts of the coun- try – now it's simply New England's Federal regulator probes electric transmission amid rising costs BY MATT PILON Hartford Business Journal News Editor

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