More than six months after the Federal Transit Administration concluded the Department of Public Utilities was falling short in its safety oversight of the MBTA, the DPU is still trying to bulk up its safety staff.
The Healey administration on Wednesday rolled out its refreshed roster for the Department of Public Utilities and charged the new trio with creating a “21st Century DPU.” But the new board still has no transit experts despite the DPU’s mission overseeing safety on the MBTA.
Beacon Hill has a clear transit to-do list for the coming legislative session, centered around setting the MBTA up for long-term success.
Lawmakers should expect to weigh legislation next year that would stand up a more independent MBTA oversight system, one senator said Thursday, contending that the existing approach by the Department of Public Utilities is part of a “mass failure” that allowed T safety issues to fester.
Four days after the T announced it would again extend the shutdown of Blue Line subway service between Maverick and Bowdoin because a “construction tool cart derailed,” MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak told reporters there have in fact been three such incidents during the maintenance effort.
Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday that he welcomes a nearly unprecedented safety investigation the Federal Transit Administration will launch into the MBTA, an agency under the governor’s watch.
Before any decisions about the future of natural gas are made, the Department of Public Utilities should reject the plans presented by gas companies and restructure its regulatory framework for the industry to focus on ratepayers, Attorney General Maura Healey’s office recommended last week.
A program that aims to expand the use of solar power in Massachusetts while lowering energy rates for customers cleared its final regulatory hurdle Wednesday, paving the way for an anticipated 1,600 megawatts of new solar installations.
Attorney General Maura Healey has negotiated an agreement with Bay State Gas Company, or better known as Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, to reduce the company’s proposed rate increase for its customers by more than $11 million.
