Joint Committee to Hold Oversight Hearings on Gas Industry

I share the many concerns that have been raised about our gas industry over the past several months. As we approach winter, I hope to receive answers to the questions residents are asking, including wanting to understand precisely what happened in the Merrimack Valley; is our current state oversight appropriate; and how workforce issues are impacting the industry, among other things.

To that end, the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy will be holding a series of hearings on the gas industry and its infrastructure in the Commonwealth. The first hearing, scheduled for December 4, 2018 at 1:00 pm in Hearing Room A1 at the State House in Boston, will be held on House Bill 4960, sponsored by Representative James O’Day. The second hearing will be an oversight hearing on the natural gas industry in Massachusetts, and will be held in Gardner Auditorium in the State House at 11:00 am on December 11, 2018. Finally, an oversight hearing will in held in the Merrimack Valley on a date as yet to be determined once residents are back in their homes.

I am also reviewing the NTSB recommendations made last week and look forward to exploring them in detail as part of this series of hearings. Details regarding these hearings will be available on my website at https://karenspilka.com.

I appreciate you taking the time to reach out to me. If you have any other concerns or comments, please do not hesitate to call my office at (617) 722-1500 or email me at Karen.Spilka@masenate.gov.