Newton City Council Will Hold a Public Hearing on Electrification of New Construction and Substantial Renovations on June 14

Posted on May 28, 2023 by Newton City Councilor Deb Crossley

Wednesday, June 14, 2023, at 7pm. Room 207 of Newton City Hall (1000 Commonwealth Avenue, Newton) and online.

Under the “Ten Communities Act”, the City of Newton is one of the ten communities selected by the MA Legislature to participate in a pilot program that would allow the City to require electrification of new construction and substantial renovations. To this end, Council has drafted an ordinance using the required model ordinance provided by the state Department of Energy Resources (DOER), but with certain proposed exemptions and a waiver provision, that will be taken into consideration.

The public hearing on June 14 is to hear from you on the proposed ordinance. On that date, there will be a presentation to further explain the process, the requirements and information as to where the City may have some latitude.

The public hearing will be open until we hear from DOER, which we expect to be before the end of 2023. If we wish to remain in the pilot program, Newton City Council must adopt the DOER- approved ordinance no later than July 1, 2024.

On or before September 1, 2023, Newton must submit a final application and proposed ordinance to the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) for their approval. City Council intends to submit a draft much sooner, to have time to consider any modifications DOER may require. Newton’s City Council is not required actually to adopt the ordinance prior to the
final submission.

Please Note: This is a hybrid meeting that the public may access in-person or virtually via Zoom with the following link on June 14. You can also call 1-646-558-8656 and use the Meeting ID: 889 9117 0976.