Aliyya Swaby Photo
Marydale DeBor thought green when decided to move to the 360 State St. luxury tower: The builder had installed a fuel cell to supply clean energy to the building’s 500 apartments. She didn’t know that five years later, the fuel cell would still be running at far less than full capacity thanks to a bureaucratic hold-up in Hartford.
DeBor and 137 other tenants have signed a petition asking the state to approve regulations that will allow them to receive electricity directly from the fuel cell generator in the building, instead of from local provider United Illuminating (UI).
Right now, the 400-kilowatt fuel cell is powering light in the building’s hallways and common areas — and nowhere else. Until recently, the state has prohibited 360 State from “submetering,” or charging tenants individually for the electricity they use from the fuel cell.
Thomas MacMillan File Photo
Becker and Malloy visit the fuel cell in 2011.
Submetering conserves energy, argued developer Bruce Becker in March 2013 testimony, by ensuring tenants are responsible for paying their individual bills, as opposed to an average of the building’s total electrical bill. “Tenants that actually make efforts to conserve energy subsidize those that waste energy,” he wrote.
In the summer of 2013, Gov. Dannel Malloy signed a bill that legalized submetering in buildings that generate their own electricity. But before 360 State can use the fuel cell in full, the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) must create a framework regulating how they can bill tenants.
That process has taken almost two years. 360 State argues in a Feb. 26 brief that “Implementation could occur immediately.”
Relief may finally be at hand: PURA is expected to issue a decision in the next two weeks. Click here to see the full docket on the case, which include recent briefs from UI and 360 State.
Meanwhile, 360 State has said it will charge tenants for fuel cell-generated electricity no higher than the rate they are now paying for UI’s power.
UI argues in a Feb. 26 brief that 360 State should be forced to charge less than the utility company does. UI charges its customers to enroll in federally mandated conservation programs, intended to offset the damage from burning coal. If 360 State included this charge in its submetering rate, it would act as an “additional revenue stream” for the building owners but “with no associated benefits” for tenants.
Instead, UI argues, 360 State should be forced to hand over the equivalent portion to UI, “helping the programs remain fully funded.”
360 State calls this “unreasonably discriminatory.” In its brief, 360 State responds that it is “not a customer of the electric utility,” therefore UI cannot collect money from it. Furthermore, tenants would be ineligible to benefit from paying into these programs because they would not longer be customers of UI.
DeBor said that she made a “conscious decision” to live in an “environmental sound,” LEED-certified building and that many other tenants appreciate its sustainability. But the building is also home to many “very very busy” professionals, who may not be actively clamoring to get the fuel cell regulated.
Tenant Mark Newman did not sign the petition – he did not know it existed. He said he moved to 360 State St. not because it promised an environmentally sustainable life, but because renting his New York City studio became too cost-prohibitive.
“I like the fact that we have a fuel cell,” he said. But he also said he expected to be charged less for his electricity if it’s coming from a greener source. 360 State is fighting to submeter at the same rate as tenants pay for electricity generated by UI.
“To me, it’s like — what are they doing for me?” he said.
Tenant Justin Eschert, an IT consultant, said he signed the petition to use the fuel cell. He said the building is energy-inefficient in other, simpler ways. He said he power bill was nearly $200 for the past two months because his windows have been broken, letting in cold air and moisture during the winter. Though an “expert” took a look at the windows, he said, they are still damaged.
“This is supposed to be an energy efficient building but it’s really not,” Eschert said. “I don’t understand why it’s LEED certified.”
The lady with her dogs and the "True Vote" notwithstanding, this is actually a complicated issue. As "Kevin" posted in a comment to the previous Independent piece about this:
"Having worked in this area for many years, actually it is "that hard" to come up with fair rules for submetering. Among the things that need to get ironed out are (1) providing appropriate consumer protections for the tenants (who are not UI customers and thus are not covered by laws governing billing disputes, etc.), (2) defining when their service can be terminated, and (3) setting rates in the absence of actual meter readings.
This does not mean that submetering should not go forward, but it is going to take more than a week to implement."
It's more than "a bureaucratic hold-up" that's delaying this. In addition to the issues Kevin raises above, let's say 360 State, major office buildings, YNNH Hospital and the City all start running off of fuel cells, but rely on UI's system as backup. Do residents of Fair Haven, the Hill, East Rock, Westville and other neighborhoods bear the cost of maintaining the city's wires and poles in our rates?
It's feeling like the Independent's coverage has been missing the analytic depth it used to deliver.