Self-Reliance announces it’s first 2016 “Big Choices” forum on March 24 with a talk by Melissa Hoffer, chief of the Energy & Environment Bureau in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO). This forum, free and open to the public, will be held in Science Lecture Hall A at Cape Cod Community College from 6:30 to 8 pm.
Ms. Hoffer will focus on key findings from the AGO’s “Regional Electric Reliability Options Study,” which explored whether new natural gas pipelines are required to meet future energy needs. The study concludes that additional investment to reduce consumption and manage demand represents the most cost-effective solution for maintaining reliability and has the added benefit of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. (See http://www.mass.gov/ago/doing-business-in-massachusetts/energy-and-utilities/regional-electric-reliability-options-study.html.)
Following the talk, experts from Cape Light Compact and Self-Reliance will provide perspective on the AGO’s study and join Ms. Hoffer in responding to questions and answers from the audience. Eversource, which supports use of ratepayer funds to subsidize the development of new natural gas pipelines, also has been invited to participate.
Since 2015, Ms. Hoffer has been overseeing the AGO’s work to enforce environmental laws, protect ratepayer interests, and support federal regulations addressing emissions of mercury, air toxins, and greenhouse gases. She joined the AGO in 2012 as chief of the Environmental Protection Division after serving as a vice president of Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), director of the CLF Healthy Communities and Environmental Justice Program, and director of the CLF New Hampshire Advocacy Center.
Previously, Ms. Hoffer practiced at WilmerHale and clerked for the Honorable Magistrate Judge Joyce London Alexander, Boston Federal District Court. In 2007, she received a Boston Bar Association President’s Award for pro bono representation of six detainees interned at Guantanamo Bay. She holds a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law, Certificate in Environmental Management from Tufts University, M.Ed. from the University of Massachusetts, and B.A. from Hampshire College.
Self-Reliance’s March 24 forum follows up on a 2015 “Big Choices” series exploring the roles of natural gas, hydropower, and offshore wind in meeting the future energy needs and climate policy objectives of Massachusetts. (For presentations and videos, see https://selfreliancefuelcoop.org/education/big-choices-forums/.)
As an independent, objective authority, Self-Reliance helps members navigate energy choices and empowers them to make decisions and take actions that save money, increase comfort and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.