Page 7 - BusinessWest October 12, 2020
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       Jim Hunt says increased reliance on solar and wind power is just one of the ways Eversource has become a catalyst for clean energy.
going to meet them.”
Hunt met with BusinessWest late last month
as part of a packed day of stops in the City
of Homes. The schedule also included visits with other media outlets, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, and Rick Sullivan, executive director of the Western Massachusetts Econom- ic Development Council.
There was plenty to talk about, including Eversource’s pending acquisition of Columbia Gas operations in Massachusetts — an impor-
tant deal that was due to receive final approval from the Department of Public Utilities as this issue was going to press — as well as COVID- 19 and its impact on the region and the busi- ness community, and even a few power outages resulting from a storm that week.
But the main topic of conversation — in part because Hunt couldn’t talk much about the Columbia Gas purchase until it was final
— involved the company’s ongoing efforts to promote clean-energy use and reduce carbon emissions — including its own drive to become carbon-neutral.
It is an ambitious goal, said Hunt, and much will have to go right for it to be attained. Actu- ally, the utility is already roughly 90% of the
way there, he noted, but the last 10% will be the most challenging.
“That last mile is always the roughest,” he noted. “It’s going to be a challenge to squeeze as much as we can out of facilities and out of our vehicles, but we’re committed to doing so because we need to lead by example.
“That last mile is always the roughest. It’s going to be a challenge to squeeze as much as we can out of facilities and out of our vehicles, but we’re committed to doing so because we need to lead by example.”
“If we’re going to help our region achieve its goals of 80% cardon reduction by 2050, if we’re going to be that clean-energy partner in energy efficiency, renewables, and other solutions for our customers and our state policy makers,” he went on, “then we think we can do more to go above and beyond and lead by example.”
To get there, the company, which serves 4 million customers in Massachusetts, Connecti- cut, and New Hampshire, will deploy a multi- faceted strategy that includes improving the efficiency of its facilities, reducing fleet emis- sions, replacing natural-gas mains to eliminate
   BusinessWest
FEATURE
OCTOBER 12, 2020 7
 Photo courtesy of Eversource
















































































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