Holyoke Gas & Electric
HG&E
TypeMunicipal corporation
IndustryEnergy, telecommunication
Predecessors
  • Holyoke Water Power Company
FoundedDecember 15, 1902 (1902-12-15)
Headquarters99 Suffolk Street,
Holyoke, MA 01040
Area served
Holyoke, Massachusetts, Southampton, Massachusetts, Leverett, Massachusetts[lower-alpha 1]
Key people
Francis J. Hoey III (chairman)
Robert H. Griffin (treasurer)
James A. Sutter (secretary)
James M. Lavelle (general manager)
ProductsElectricity, natural gas, fiber communications services, public services billing
RevenueIncrease$84.9 million USD (2022)
Total assetsDecrease$292.4 million USD (2022)
Total equityDecrease$117.9 million USD (2022)
OwnerCity of Holyoke
Websitehged.com

Holyoke Gas & Electric (HG&E), formally known as the City of Holyoke Gas & Electric Department (HGED), is a municipal electric, gas, and telecommunications utility primarily serving Holyoke and Southampton, Massachusetts, one of two in Massachusetts which provide all three services.[1][lower-alpha 2] Founded in 1902 with the purchase of gas and electric plants from the Holyoke Water Power Company, the municipal corporation launched its first fiber optics communications services in 1997. On December 14, 2001 the City of Holyoke purchased the majority of the remaining assets and operations of the Holyoke Water Power Company from Northeast Utilities and as a result the municipal utility assumed control of the Holyoke Dam and Canal System and an electric distribution system serving industrial electric customers in the flats neighborhood. The utility discontinued district steam service to conserve energy used in aging infrastructure in September 2010.[2][3] Using hydroelectric power generation in tandem with a series of solar panel facilities, the utility has among the lowest rates in the Commonwealth,[4] and as of 2016 between 85% and 90% of the city's energy output was carbon neutral, with administrative goals in place to reach 100% in the next decade.[5][6]

Examples of HG&E's renewables portfolio, a solar panel installation adjacent to the Holyoke Dam

In 2010, the utility worked with affiliate institutions Boston University, Harvard, MIT, Northeastern, and UMass to set up special infrastructure to power and connect the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center to a point of presence and the Internet2 network.[7][8] On November 6, 2019, city voters passed a nonbinding question calling for a feasibility study and cost estimate of a gradual rollout of residential fiber internet service.[9] In 2022, HG&E procured a full network design for a fiber-to-the-home rollout, with plans to continue cost estimation in subsequent years.[10] Among its other initiatives the municipal utility worked with French multinational Engie in 2018 to create the largest energy storage facility in Massachusetts, reducing the need for peaking units and allowing more economical distribution of its portfolio of renewable hydroelectric and solar despite variations in generation and demand.[11]

Notes

  1. ↑ Oversees maintenance and network operation for fiber to the home internet service only
  2. ↑ Westfield Gas & Electric (WG&E) also provides all three services, as well as residential telecom.

References

  1. ↑ "Natural gas companies". Gas Division, Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities. Archived from the original on January 1, 2019.
  2. ↑ City of Holyoke Energy Reduction Action Plan (PDF) (Report). May 14, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 1, 2017.
  3. ↑ Moore, David (2002). Holyoke Gas & Electric Department, 1902–2002, The First One Hundred Years (PDF) (Report). Holyoke Gas & Electric. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2019.
  4. ↑ Residential Rate Comparison - 750kWh, June 2017 (PDF) (Report). Hudson Light; Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company. June 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 10, 2018.
  5. ↑ Serreze, Mary C. (July 20, 2016). "Palmer and Holyoke honored for 100% renewable energy commitment". MassLive. Springfield, Mass. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Baker-Polito Administration Awards $1 Million Renewable Energy Grant to Holyoke". MA Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Commononwealth of Massachusetts. March 11, 2017. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Utility Infrastructure and Environmental Remediation- Telecommunication Infrastructure". MGHPCC. Archived from the original on February 16, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Why Holyoke?". MGHPCC. Archived from the original on February 16, 2018.
  9. ↑ Asiamah. "Election Results: Hampden County mayoral race, city council". WWLP 22 News. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019.
    • Spotts, Peter (October 25, 2019). "Fiber optic question also on ballot". The Holyoke Sun. Holyoke, Mass.: Turley Publications. pp. 1, 11.
  10. ↑ Annual report of the Holyoke Gas and Electric Department (PDF) (Report). 2022. p. 17.
  11. ↑ Treeger, Don (September 25, 2018). "ENGIE NA and Holyoke G&E unveil largest energy storage in Massachusetts". MassLive. Springfield, Mass. Archived from the original on January 9, 2019.


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