October 17, 2025 • 39 mins
Electricity bills are expected to go up this Winter. The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts an average electricity bill rise of approximately 4% from November until March 2026, reaching about $1,130 nationally. What are you doing, if anything, to mitigate the impact of those increased energy rates?
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WBS Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Thank you, Al Griffin. As we head into this beautiful
fall weekend, there may not be many more beautiful fall weekends,
because obviously winter is going to be moving in at
some point, hopefully later than sooner, but it could be
sooner than later, as it often is. Its want here
in Massachusetts, we had all over the Northeast wherever you were,
(00:28):
within the sound of our voices and so my voice.
So I thought we would spend a little time tonight
on what your plans are to keep your energy bill lower.
Last winter we saw a huge spike in energy costs
and as a result, perhaps not as a direct result,
but cuarly as a result, two of the DPU commissioners,
(00:48):
who and I believe I forget which utility it was,
they actually the DPU commissioners last year, actually gave a
greater increase to one of the energy provide us here
in Massachusetts that they had requested. Now I think all
of us understand, or we should understand, that the energy
providers here in Massachusetts they have a huge responsibility. You
(01:15):
could say, well, if in the middle of January there's
no energy or people have not planned well enough, and
you can't get heat for your home, whether it's again
it's oil or gas or electrical or whatever. At that
point you say, I don't care what I have to pay.
But on the other hand, most of us realize that
(01:38):
the energy is there, the heat is there because of
planning that has been done by the companies. But there's
this normal tug and pull between the politicians and the
companies and between the consumers or amongst now the consumers
and the politicians, And that's the reality. In order for
(02:01):
whatever whoever your provider is, and I don't care whatever
the name of your provider is, they're all in the
same situation. They have to make sure that they have
adequate supplies so that they can provide the energy necessary
to keep your home warm. You can adjust your thermostats somewhat,
(02:21):
and again you can't turn it down to forty degrees,
but you can make it seventy one instead of seventy five,
or you can make it sixty eight instead of seventy one.
But there's a bit of a controversy, and I think
you're going to hear more of it. The governor of
Massachusetts took a lot of heat last year. And remember
(02:43):
she had this, She took the utility companies, the energy providers,
and threatened them, and they supposedly gave back some money
to people. Wasn't a lot of money. I don't know
how many of you got it. I don't recall getting
it in my my bills, my energy bills. But that's okay.
It was a small amount of money compared to what
(03:06):
I was paying. But all of those DPU commissioners who
last November approved the rate hike requests, two of them
now have have moved on that have been replaced by
the governor. It was done, I believe in August. It
wasn't a high profile move. However, the governor did this
(03:28):
week send a letter to the state regulators who she
appointed to the Department of Public Utilities. There's only three,
basically telling them that they're facing a November first deadline
to approve winter gas rates, which could rise again, making
for another expensive heating season. So there's some video going
(03:49):
around that actually was put into place today by one
of the Republican candidates running for governor, and they've called
into question. Mike Kanneely's campaign has called into question whether
or not the governor is being as forthright as she should.
Back in twenty twenty two, the governor was quoted on camera,
(04:16):
I'll play that for you in a second, saying that
she had stopped two gas pipelines. Now today her position
as governor seems to be quite different. So I'm going
to play this sound by First off, it only lasts
nineteen seconds, but it has its being used by the
Canadian campaign. It's also being used by the Mass Fiscal Alliance.
(04:40):
I'm not sure which, but I have checked it out.
These are legitimate statements. Now, they're not long statements, so
I can't guarantee the context is totally correct, but they're
pretty definitive. First you hear the governor saying that today
she's going to do everything she can to keep rates down.
But then you will here a second segment where in
(05:02):
twenty twenty two, while she was Attorney General and in
anticipation of running for governor, she made it quite clear
that matter of fact, it was in the campaign now
that I think about it, because she was elected in
twenty twenty two, made it quite clear that she had
stopped pipeline pipeline. So the first twelve seconds are Governor
(05:25):
Heey today and the next seven seconds are then Attorney
General Healey running for governor and the position seemed to
be inconsistent mildly. Let's play cut twenty one, please, Rob.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
I'm very focused on loring costs for residents for businesses.
That includes energy costs. One thing we don't need is
energy supply to our region cut off, and unfortunately that's
what we're seeing by the Trump administration. Remember I stopped
two gas pipelines from coming into this state.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Remember I stopped two gas pipelines from coming into this day.
Wouldn't it be nice if we had those two gas
pipelines Now, I went back and found a story out
of the Boston Globe on May twelfth to support what
I'm suggesting tonight. This is a piece that was written
by Sabrina Shankman and the Boston Globe on May twelfth,
twenty twenty two. It would have been just a few
(06:18):
days after that statement that then Attorney General mar Heley made.
So the article begins Attorney General mar Healey, who two
years ago prompted the state to begin mapping the phase
out of natural gas in Massachusetts, is now asking it
to scrap the blueprint. Emerging from the process, saying it
(06:40):
favors gas company profits over a healthy climate. The governors,
then the Attorney General is quoted as saying we should
be setting the path for an energy system that is equitable, reliable,
and affordable, not one that pumps more money into gas
pipeline and props up utility shareholders, said Healey, who is
(07:04):
running for governor. A one hundred and six page document
filed with the state Department of Public Utilities late last week.
This again is in May of twenty two. Healey said
the agency's decision making process should be overhauled to prioritize
climate goals over the health of utilities, currently one of
(07:26):
its functions. So the governor will be seeing I suspect
plenty of ads this winter from the Republicans who are
seeking the Republican nomination. Remember, the next governor's race is
not this fall, its next fall. It's so thirteen months away.
Thirteen months from now, Governor Healey will have stood for
(07:48):
reelection and either been re elected or turned out of office.
But I just want to open up the phone lines
and get a sense from all of you, how tough
do you think it's going to be. This win I
think it's going to be really tough. I think we
are going to see some power shortages uh and and
(08:08):
I think we're going to see some higher power bills.
And the politicians will blame the utility companies because because
the politicians have not done their job looking into the
crystal ball of the future, there was a real push
to get rid of anything that's fossil fuels related. And
(08:29):
we're going to pay a price for that, whether we
like it or not. Six one seven, two, five, four
ten thirty six one seven nine three one ten thirty.
What are your hopes for this winter? Other than moving
to Florida? What are your hopes for this winter? How
will you keep your bill down?
Speaker 4 (08:45):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Or can you Obviously you can't control the weather. You
can control your thermostat, you can control some conditions in
your home. Let's talk about some tips where we can
all help each other save some money. Six seven, four,
ten thirty six seven, nine thirty. My name is Dan Ray,
and this is Nightside, coming right back.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
So we're talking about utility rates this winter, and I
fear they are going up. And we talked last hour
with Matt Ben's of ACU Weather joining us now is
the candidate one of the three candidates who are running
for the Republican nomination. Mike Kenneely, Mike, welcome to Nightside.
How are you, sir?
Speaker 5 (09:33):
Hey Dan Graat with you? Thank you?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Well, you have jumped on this issue and the apparent
contradictions of what the governor was doing while attorney general
and what she is saying now. Is there any way
to reconcile those those seemingly conflicting statements in your mind?
Speaker 5 (09:54):
Well? I don't think so. I mean three years ago.
I think it was in a debate or some kind
of a form before she was running for governor. She said,
remember I shut down two natural gas pipelines. I guess,
trying to force for her audience how serious she was
about shutting down natural gas in Massachusetts.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Yeah. By the way, that was when she was running
for governor, because that was according to the timestamp on
the sound bite, it was April of twenty two, and that.
Speaker 5 (10:20):
Well there you go, yeah, yeah, right for governor.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
She's running for the governor. And I don't know if
it was at a full blown gubernatorial debate or but right,
that was her position then and.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
That's right, that's right. So she wanted the audience to
know she was shutting down national gas pipelines. And then
earlier this week, I had said she's serious about the
fact that gas and energy's too expensive and she's in
favor of bringing more supply in and also said that
she's always been a favorite more supply. And so we
looked at those two quotes side by side, the quote
(10:54):
three years ago, you know, bragging about shutting down pipelines,
and the quote this week saying she was never in
favor of shutting down supply. And so, to answer your question, Dan,
you can't explain it. I guess maybe one explanation that
started to be a little cynical here is that just
did two different elections to a very different political contexts.
But I really think leaders owe it to be candid
(11:17):
with the voters and speak clearly and not contradict themselves
that way and not try to pretend it didn't happen.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yeah, at some point, I'm sure this is going that
we're going to hear a lot about that. We If
you remember, there was one point several years ago when
there were a lot of fires and she made the
comment that's how forests grow, right, That kind of was
a moment in time. Also, I wanted you to comment
(11:46):
on August twenty sixth. Really, I had not noticed this
as much of a story. The governor's the Heally Driscoll
administration appointed two new DPU commissioners and focused on lowering
costs and increasing energy supply. I thought those commissioners served
(12:09):
as like a three year term and every year one
of them would come up for renewal. Were you aware
that there were two of the commissioners who are now
former commissioners were replaced the chair whose last name was
van Nostrin On James van Nostrin, and commissioners Cecil Frasier.
(12:31):
They were replaced in August. On August twenty sixth, I
don't think that story got much of much play. Were
you aware of that at the time.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
I was, and it didn't get a lot of play.
And I think, again, we really need to call attention
to these times. Let's start with the basic facts, which
is energy is way too expensive here at Massachusetts. I
think the last time I looked, were number three in
the country among the fifty states, so behind Hawaii and California,
and our energy cost serve about fifty percent higher than
the national average. So we've got to do something about this.
(13:04):
And I've been saying for a long time that Governor
Heally does not have an energy policy. She has a
climate agenda, and the climate agenda is one we do
shut down natural gas pipelines. And you have all these
charges on utility bills. I call them the green gimmicks
that are meant to facilitate an energy transition, as they
call it, with solar panel charges and other things. And
(13:25):
so this has been the Heally approach to energy, or
just lack of an approach, And so I think you're
seeing things now that are meant to imply that it's
been a very different course, whether it's personnel changers or
the comment this week about I've hope she's never been
in favor of shutting down supply. So if Dan, it
feels like, honestly, they're scrambling a bit here as we
enter an election season knowing that the course they pursued
(13:46):
has not been advantageous for consumers and businesses. We got
a real problem here, But what I don't see are
our real solutions to the problem. And a real solution
would be hey, let's get those natural gas pipelines here.
Let's have more supply. And I've been staying for a
long time now. Energy is in market just like anything
else in any market, the law of supply and demand
(14:07):
is undefeated. You want lower price, you got to bring
in more supply. So we're not seeing serious steps. We're
seeing some steps that are meant to signal that there's
going to be action, but they're not serious attempts to
solve the problem.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Well, bad news for the governor, no matter. There's nothing
that could be done now in terms of bringing new
gas pipelines in that's going to impact what heating bills
would be in November, December, January, February, March, in April.
Speaker 5 (14:34):
That's right, that's absolutely right now.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
I mean that horse has left the proverbial blard.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
It has.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
We're living now with the consequence of bad policy choices
for years, and yes, it will take some time to
undo that. But the goodness is we can have a
new governor here not too long and starts down a
much better path. But but you're right in terms of it,
there's no really easy short term fixes to this. Well,
there would be a short term fix to getting the
charges off our bills and all these delivery charges and
(15:04):
solar charges and those things that would be relatively easy.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
How do you how do you do that? How do
you do that? Mike? I mean that could that be
done by a gubernatorial stroke of the pan of gubernatorial
fiat executive the equivalent of executive order.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
But my understanding is some of it could, some of
it might require some legislative approval. But you know, I'll
highlight a couple of things. This this Mass Save program,
which is very expensive, and I point people to the
work the auditor did on this a couple of weeks ago,
and analysis of the mass Save programs basically says you've got,
you know, poorer community subsidizing wealthier communities who want to
(15:41):
have solar panels and things like that. The program is
not is not not helping the people's designed to help,
but the biggest problem you have, the biggest overarching problem.
And by the way, I want to credit the Mass
Fiscal Alliance for their work on this as well. I
think we had two very similar social media posts on
the on the the different videos of the governor.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Heally, I was trying to figure out which came first.
Kind of a chicken in an egg situation. Yeah, okay,
And so we leave that as an open question. But
you addressed that with me earlier today. I wanted to
make sure that the that the comments were an accurate reflection.
If the governor were to challenge your statements. I assume
(16:23):
you'd be willing to join her some night on the
show here, n okay. I just wanted to make sure
that just in case, because I'd like to keep it fair.
Go ahead.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
Yeah, but mass Bisco has also done a great job
pointing out that one of the overapching problems here is
this mandate that the state become net zero by twenty fifty,
and that was done legislative, but we'll have to get
to be undone legislatively. And what that does, Dan is
basically empowers the biocracy to create all these other mandates
(16:54):
around what kind of cars we can drive, what kind
of trucks we can drive. It's even a proposal to
limit our number of miles we can drive, how to
heat our homes, but this is a legally and.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
What to use to cook your meals as well, exactly. Yeah, Well,
this is a pervasive, in my opinion, intrusion by government.
Speaker 5 (17:14):
I mean but curious, sure is it's government mismanagement, micromanagement.
But again it gets back to the fact that there's
this legislative mandate, so some of the charges can come
off the bills by executive action. But the root cause
of the problem, in my view, is this net zero
by twenty fifty. We've got to get rid of that,
and we've got to have a serious energy policy, not
(17:36):
an out of control ideological climate agenda.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Well, I think I think you're correct in that, in
the sense that there was a push in this country
and in this state for the last twenty twenty five
years when people like John Kerry and elgol were telling
us that the sky was falling and that this was
going to happen, and that the waters were going to rise,
(18:00):
and I mean all of that. And one of the
things that I always tried to point to to my friends,
I said, well, you know, I believe that the climate changes,
but I think that the climate goes back and forth.
When I was in graduate school back in the nineteen seventies,
I remember, and you're probably not old enough to remember,
(18:21):
but you can go look it up. Newsweek and Time Magazine,
which were two very very important weekly news journals, really
important news journals. They had cover stories essentially heralding the
coming ice age that we were moving. No, I'm serious.
These were headline stories, Mike, and you can go find them.
(18:42):
They're out there.
Speaker 6 (18:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
And then so either the climatologists were wrong then or
they're wrong now. You can have it both ways. And
what happens is I say to friends of mine, I said, look,
I think think President Obama was one of the smartest
presidents we ever had, and I mean that seriously. And
(19:06):
they said, well, why does that impact your view of
climate change? He bought it was an eighteen acre estate
at sea level in Marthe's vineyard. I'm being totally serious.
You know that's intended. It's a serious comment. I don't
think that if President Obama truly thought we were on
(19:27):
the precipice of seas rising, you know that he would
have bought that property on Marthe's Vineyard. In my opinion, now,
so I think we need to be concerned about it,
and I hope you think we need to be concerned
about it. But at the same time, we also have
to understand that that winters here in New England can
(19:48):
be very tough, and I don't want people freezing to death.
Speaker 5 (19:52):
No, it's exactly right, Dan. Maybe two other comments in
that regard. One is that if you believe that global
emissions or a problem, we should look at the fact
that Massachusetts, last time a check, represents zero point one
percent of emissions globally. And so this is right. And
so we're doing the damage greatly, damage our economic competitiveness
(20:14):
or our cost of living, our ability to produce housing,
and do lots of other things for the sake of
trying to optimize point one percent of emissions. That that
feels like policies that are misplaced. But the other is that,
you know, part of the very definition of governing the
leadership is being able to sort through competing priorities. And
so I'll point out to the fact that that's not
(20:35):
the case in the Healthy administration. She has a climate chief.
And my understanding is the cabinet secretary's report not just
to the governor, but to the climate chief. And so
if you are the housing secretary or the transportation secretary,
you've got to have your plans vetted by the climate chief.
I mean, give me a break, it's the job of
the row through competing priorities. Not to put your thumb
(20:58):
on the scale and have everything by the climate agenda.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
But I but I do think that there's a there
are voices, you know who are who believe it's you know,
it's not like they disbelieve what they're saying. They believe, Uh,
they are over they have an overwhelming influence within Democratic
primary voters. And therefore, you know, people who want to
get a nomination within the Democratic Party have to you know,
(21:25):
dance to the tune of those party activists. And whether
it's you know, climate issues or bike lean issues, which
all of which kind of are inter interwoven, you would
be you would be politically suicidal if you chose to say, gee,
I'm not quite sure of all of this. So uh,
I hope you, Mike stay on top of this, and
(21:47):
I hope the other Republican candidates stake out their positions
as well, so that voters have a choice in the
Republican primary and uh, and that voters have a choice
come next September October as we move into the election
in November.
Speaker 5 (22:04):
Well, I think that's right, Dan, It's clear we need
new leadership in Massachusetts. I do believe I'm the only
Republican that could actually defeat Governor Heally. We need leadership desperately.
And when I launched my campaign back in April, i'd
launched with three basic themes around affordability, opportunity, and better government.
But the affordability piece is real, and this is really
hurting our household, our businesses. People are leaving the state
(22:27):
every month, every year because they simply can't afford to
live here. Companies are making different decisions of it where
they're going to put their net new jobs Massachusetts versus
somewhere else. But this is an enormous competitive disadvantage for
us and a real pain point for our consumers and
our smallest businesses and everybody. And so we need a
governor that's serious about affordability, not just paying lip service
(22:48):
to it. And Governor Heally, I hear it save the
word affordability a lot, but I'd ask, where are the
real strategies to drive a much stronger affordability policy. We're
just not saying it.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Conneely candidate for Governor, How folks, How can folks might
be interested in your campaign get in touch with you.
Speaker 5 (23:05):
I go to Mike Kenneely dot com. It's got information
about about myself and my trek work and my experience
that the priorities I have as a candidate and we'll
have as governor, which have been informed by now twelve
years working in full time in public service in Massachusetts
and of a lot of travel around the state. I've
done seventy public events, speeches, and lots of media appearances
(23:29):
and lots of engagement with voters. That's informed my view
on what has to happen here. But it's been a
great process of listening, learning, and and campaigning for a
job where you can get a lot of good done
for the people in Massachusetts. And that's what I'm all about.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
Okay, Well, well, thanks very much for calling in tonight.
I appreciate it. Mike kennely k E N N E
A L L Y if I'm not missing O L
what l Okay, I've they got to correct that. Okay,
glad we did that. Okay, sounds great. Appreciate it, Mike,
Thank you very much.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
Appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Thank a little bit late for the news break. Here's
what I want to do again. I'm not looking to
turn this into politics, but I wanted to make sure
that the sound that we were using is an accurate
reflection of what the governor said at a point in
the past as opposed to what's going on today. Obviously,
I think everyone is concerned about higher prices because whether
you pay it as an owner or a condominium owner
(24:24):
of a home, or as a renter, And if you
don't pay it directly as a as a renter, I'm
sure it will be reflected in your lease payments. So
I'd love to hear from you. How concerned are you
about the upcoming winter and what impact it may have
on your familya's budget Number one? Tell us who you
(24:45):
think might be able to have some solutions and how
did we get into this problem where we apparently do
not have enough pipelines coming into New England h and
when when there's a shortage of product, obviously the price
of that product increases, which eventually is going to be
passed on to all of us as consumers. We haven't
(25:06):
talked about this in a while. Feel free got some
wide open lines six one, seven, two, five, four to
ten thirty six one seven, nine, three one ten thirty
If you're a resident not only in Massachusetts, been anywhere
within the sound of our voices, winter is coming and
with winter will come difficult, colder weather and higher energy
(25:28):
prices and higher energy bills. And do you agree with
the gentlemen who you just heard, or do you agree
with the governor that maybe we need to continue on
this road even though it's going to cost us, it
will save us uh in the in the long run.
I'm somebody who's concerned, frankly about climate change, but I
(25:50):
do not think that our response to it needs to
be as draconian as it's been six one, seven, two, five,
ten thirty six one seven, nine three, one ten thirty.
Coming right back on side right after this.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
I want to see what people think as we head
towards the winter. I don't care where you are within
the sound of my voice unless you live down in
Key West, Florida. Winter can be tough, particularly here the
further north you go. Let me go to is it Lilah?
Have I pronounced it correctly? Lilah? Hi, La Lilah in Midfield? Hi, Lilah, Welcome. Hi.
Speaker 6 (26:29):
I've got sort of a little different post on this
and at home to help people as far as going
into winter buys, I have had to live on a
very tight budget for many years. Okay, And several years
ago I was with friends and I was talking to
(26:52):
a man that worked for an oil company, and I
said to him, I heat with oil. I said, do
I we have to leave my furnace on off spring
and summer and fall when it's wamish, Because no, he said,
when you need hot water for a shower or bath,
(27:13):
or the washer dryer or whatever you need it for,
turn the furnace on. Then when you don't need that
hot water, shut the furnace off. And he said, no
oil company is going to tell you that, okay, because
the business.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
I used to purchase oil when we lived in not
in a town next to yours, many years ago, from
an oil company out in your neck of the woods,
might be the same company. I was always under the
impression that and I could be dead wrong here, but
I was under the impression that if you turned Europe
(27:53):
your furnish off, it took a long time to you know,
to warm the water up for hot showers, and that
that maybe I was lazy, but it wasn't like you
turn on the gas stove to uh, you know, to
to cook a pot of soup or something, or to
(28:13):
uh heat a kettle uh for a cup of tea,
that it took time to get it up, to get
the heat up so that the the the shower would
be comfortable. And of course most people in the morning,
you get up and you want to jump in the
shower when it's you don't want to spend half an
hour running running down solid turning the the the furnace on.
(28:37):
But but maybe there's people out there who know even
more about it. Well, the idea say, they certainly know
more about it than I do. Maybe they'll they'll confirm
hopefully if that is true, that's it, And that's a
great tip. But I want people maybe to get that confirmed,
uh and so they're not miss layed. Okay, but that's right.
Speaker 6 (28:57):
I've been I've been doing this first really years now.
And leave me. It works and the furnace comes on
right away. And when you hit the switch absolutely you
know how long.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
So let me ask you a lile, how long does
it take for you to get the So if you
leave it off for a day or so, obviously it
goes down in the temperature goes down. How long does
it take you with your furnace to get it back.
So when you get in the shower, you know, you
feel it's a warm shower or hot shower.
Speaker 6 (29:31):
Okay, I would say maybe ten minutes, maybe fifteen the most.
That's that's nothing. That's nothing, and you're saving and you're
saving all that money, and well, you.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Know, that's a great that's a great tip. And by
the way, I thank you for calling, and I hope
that there will be someone out there who can confirm
that for us. So maybe a couple of people can
confirm that, because it makes all the sense in the world.
Your first time call it tonight.
Speaker 6 (30:00):
No, I've called you before, okay.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
And thank you for this call, particularly because we may
save ourselves. And it's the sort of thing that I
don't have oil in the properties that that I live
in now. But I'll have to find out if that
applies to other other heat sources as well.
Speaker 6 (30:19):
I don't know. I don't know. I don't know anything
about gas. I just know about the oil, all right.
I've had no furnace problems all these years, so and
I get it maintained every year, Lila, thank you.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Well, that's the most important thing. When you have a furnace,
you got to have. I used to have a company
out there that came every year, and I felt that
I never want that, never want the furnace to fail. Lila,
thank you so much for your call. Let's see if
others out there who maybe are in the are in
the business, are in the field, will confirm what you
have to say. Thanks, Lila, appreciate it.
Speaker 6 (30:55):
I hope, I hope somebody will. Okay, thank you, I
love the show. Okay, right back.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
At you, good night. Six one seven, two, five, four
ten thirty. Those lines will open. The other line is full.
We'll get to a Jean and Harrison uh in just
a moment. But if you want to get on, and
particularly if you know the business, uh, you heard what
Lilah had to say. I don't want to mislead people,
but if that is true, that's a pretty good tip.
(31:21):
And if you if you're looking to save money, I
want to know if there's someone out there in the
oil business that can confirm that for us. I would
appreciate it a lot. Six one, seven, two, five, four
ten thirty. I will tell you we're going to change
topics at ten o'clock and we're going to talk about
what may happen in Venezuela in the days and uh
maybe hours ahead. We'll get to all of that, but
(31:44):
feel free to join the conversation. Six the only line six, one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty. Fill it up right now. Coming back on
night Side.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
It's Night's Eye with Dan Ray on w Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Okay, let's go back to the call. It's going to
go to Gene and Averagene. Welcome next on n side,
checking out.
Speaker 4 (32:03):
Thank you. This is a great subject, and I really
think that state government has mismanaged and barely paid attention
to our outlook of our energy needs gas oil and electric.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
Well they were paying attention last March and all of that,
but they were asleep at the switch before that. That's
my concern. What do you have? Right?
Speaker 4 (32:22):
We have deer in the headlights deer in the headlights syndrome?
Speaker 2 (32:27):
What do you have for uh you are you electric?
Are you gas? You oil? What are you? What do you?
What do you use?
Speaker 4 (32:35):
I have? I have a boiler. I have a gas boiler.
But I need, I do need to have some insulation
around my doors and I have two fireplaces which I
want to figure out how to you know, insulate to
keep the cold here from those even though.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
They do you use Do you use the fireplaces in
the winter?
Speaker 4 (32:57):
I don't because it seems to.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Okay, which is fine. Do you have the flu? But
if I needed to, do you have the flus closed?
Speaker 4 (33:10):
I do close them in the winter years.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
Okay. Well that's good. Okay, that's fine.
Speaker 4 (33:14):
But I think I might need to insulate a little more.
But here's the thing. You know, it would be great
if you could have a guest who knows how to
tell people what things they can do in their house.
Because I've been, I've read, I looked up a lot.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
And let me ask you this, Jeane, let me help you.
Do you own your own home? Yes?
Speaker 4 (33:33):
I do?
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Okay?
Speaker 4 (33:34):
Is just single family two floors?
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Yes, single family two floors. I would suggest you contact
mass Save okay, because that is a program that actually
can help you and also gives you stuff.
Speaker 4 (33:49):
No, I agree. I do know about them. But the
one company that when I found out about them, that
I was referred to, they want to pump and into
my walls from outside. I'm not doing any of that.
I want laid in my attic.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Yeah, Gene, Gene, I'm not going to talk to you
about what you want, what you don't want. All I
suggested to you was mass saved. If you've already been there,
done that not a problem. I I I think that's
something that is free and it doesn't cost you anything
for them to come and give you you But you've
had you've done it, so that's no problem.
Speaker 4 (34:26):
I did do it before and they really didn't do
too much to gain.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Okay, well again, if it didn't work, that.
Speaker 4 (34:34):
They're not as good as they're supposed to be anyway.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
But well maybe you're right. Maybe you're right. So I
don't know what other advice to give you, but I
got to keep nothing.
Speaker 4 (34:42):
Okay, if you appreciate, have a guest on would be great.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
Yeah, we can do that. Yeah, we'll try to do that.
Speaker 4 (34:48):
It'll be great. Okay, have a good night, Thanks.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
Great night, good night. Okay. Harrison is up in New Hampshire. Harrison,
you were next to Nightside. Welcome.
Speaker 7 (34:57):
Hi, thank you, Dan. I just wanted to say I'm
what you would consider a liberal, but I love listening
to your show on your topics, your topics and your analysis,
your viewpoints. So I wanted I wish I had a tip,
but I want us to kind of bring up like
the company's responsibility and these affordability crises when we're talking
(35:17):
about energy like National Grid. And I guess like also
kind of a question too, because with these the service
charges on the bills, it's not our you know what
I mean, It's like not just the electricity, it's like
all these added fees too. I went through it with
my internet. I was like, why I started paying like
twenty something and now it's up to like almost one hundred.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
So I just think, is that in the winter time?
You mean one hundred of months?
Speaker 1 (35:46):
Oh?
Speaker 7 (35:47):
For electricity? Mine just goes up in the winter anyway,
because I use it. It's not one hundred of months.
I share it. I live in a family home, but
I use a space heater because it's so cold, So
we'll go for that reason.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
What I was asking Harrison, and I was just curious,
if you're in New Hampshire, obviously that's a cold state.
I'm just curious, how expensive do you live in a
single family home? Do you live in an apartment? Give
me an.
Speaker 7 (36:13):
I'm working a job in New Hampshire. I live in
Watertown and I have it's a three level. I'm in
the basement and my It was my uncle's house that
he passed away, and my cousin and his fiance live
the second floor, and then there's tenants on the third.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
Okay, so you just have you just had the basement.
And over time, how long have you lived there? A
couple of years, longer three years? Three years? So over
those three years have your have your heating bills gone
up a lot or a little or have they stayed
the same?
Speaker 7 (36:42):
Well, I can only my cousin handle that. I just
I've seen a lot like online these service charges, to
be honest, I Internet Internet went on and you know
that's I just think like they work in kind of
these the Biden's credit like the jug fees and all that.
But I and also the supermarkets too, because like it
(37:03):
might be a conspiracy, but after the pandemic, it was
an excuse to raise prices to the supply chain. But
I think that they're kind of they're responsible for the
price gouging too, Like we get squeezed, and I think
that's why the market basket flight was so important.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
But by the way, yeah, and by the way, you
and I made different but I agree with you. There
are products that before the COVID crisis. Yes, they would
cost let's say, I don't know, you know, two forty
nine or two for five dollars, and now they're for
ninety nine. And I'm talking about you know, I want
(37:40):
to do my awaken when indy. But I'm also I
can eat cookies and stuff like that, I refuse to
buy them, Harrison. My attitude is I may be the
only person, but I do believe in the free market.
And if I'm not gonna let you gouge me, I
can find different cookies, I can find different items. I'll
eat more fruit, which is probably but with energy bills,
(38:03):
it's kind of tough. And uh and we're going to
tell you. I hear about this a lot this winter,
and I hope, I really do hope that you will
stay with us. And I thank you for your kind
comments at the beginning, because I want all points of
view in my program.
Speaker 7 (38:17):
I really well. I think it's important to build bridges,
and I thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
Absolutely. I'm more than happy. And you are part of
that process by by listening. Tell your friends about Nightside,
and you call in anytime next hour. We're going to
talk about uh Is Venezuela on Donald Trump's next on
Donald Trump's hit list. Thanks Harrison, this is your first
time calling.
Speaker 7 (38:38):
Yeah, first time you got to give you a pause.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
I'll look forward to call it for your second call.
Thanks Harrison very much. Getuated, have a great weekend, stay warm.
We get back, we will talk about what's going on
in Venezuela. I think a lot's going on down there,
and the stage is being set, and the stage may
already be set. Coming back on night side right after
the
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WBS Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Thank you, Al Griffin. As we head into this beautiful
fall weekend, there may not be many more beautiful fall weekends,
because obviously winter is going to be moving in at
some point, hopefully later than sooner, but it could be
sooner than later, as it often is. Its want here
in Massachusetts, we had all over the Northeast wherever you were,
(00:28):
within the sound of our voices and so my voice.
So I thought we would spend a little time tonight
on what your plans are to keep your energy bill lower.
Last winter we saw a huge spike in energy costs
and as a result, perhaps not as a direct result,
but cuarly as a result, two of the DPU commissioners,
(00:48):
who and I believe I forget which utility it was,
they actually the DPU commissioners last year, actually gave a
greater increase to one of the energy provide us here
in Massachusetts that they had requested. Now I think all
of us understand, or we should understand, that the energy
providers here in Massachusetts they have a huge responsibility. You
(01:15):
could say, well, if in the middle of January there's
no energy or people have not planned well enough, and
you can't get heat for your home, whether it's again
it's oil or gas or electrical or whatever. At that
point you say, I don't care what I have to pay.
But on the other hand, most of us realize that
(01:38):
the energy is there, the heat is there because of
planning that has been done by the companies. But there's
this normal tug and pull between the politicians and the
companies and between the consumers or amongst now the consumers
and the politicians, And that's the reality. In order for
(02:01):
whatever whoever your provider is, and I don't care whatever
the name of your provider is, they're all in the
same situation. They have to make sure that they have
adequate supplies so that they can provide the energy necessary
to keep your home warm. You can adjust your thermostats somewhat,
(02:21):
and again you can't turn it down to forty degrees,
but you can make it seventy one instead of seventy five,
or you can make it sixty eight instead of seventy one.
But there's a bit of a controversy, and I think
you're going to hear more of it. The governor of
Massachusetts took a lot of heat last year. And remember
(02:43):
she had this, She took the utility companies, the energy providers,
and threatened them, and they supposedly gave back some money
to people. Wasn't a lot of money. I don't know
how many of you got it. I don't recall getting
it in my my bills, my energy bills. But that's okay.
It was a small amount of money compared to what
(03:06):
I was paying. But all of those DPU commissioners who
last November approved the rate hike requests, two of them
now have have moved on that have been replaced by
the governor. It was done, I believe in August. It
wasn't a high profile move. However, the governor did this
(03:28):
week send a letter to the state regulators who she
appointed to the Department of Public Utilities. There's only three,
basically telling them that they're facing a November first deadline
to approve winter gas rates, which could rise again, making
for another expensive heating season. So there's some video going
(03:49):
around that actually was put into place today by one
of the Republican candidates running for governor, and they've called
into question. Mike Kanneely's campaign has called into question whether
or not the governor is being as forthright as she should.
Back in twenty twenty two, the governor was quoted on camera,
(04:16):
I'll play that for you in a second, saying that
she had stopped two gas pipelines. Now today her position
as governor seems to be quite different. So I'm going
to play this sound by First off, it only lasts
nineteen seconds, but it has its being used by the
Canadian campaign. It's also being used by the Mass Fiscal Alliance.
(04:40):
I'm not sure which, but I have checked it out.
These are legitimate statements. Now, they're not long statements, so
I can't guarantee the context is totally correct, but they're
pretty definitive. First you hear the governor saying that today
she's going to do everything she can to keep rates down.
But then you will here a second segment where in
(05:02):
twenty twenty two, while she was Attorney General and in
anticipation of running for governor, she made it quite clear
that matter of fact, it was in the campaign now
that I think about it, because she was elected in
twenty twenty two, made it quite clear that she had
stopped pipeline pipeline. So the first twelve seconds are Governor
(05:25):
Heey today and the next seven seconds are then Attorney
General Healey running for governor and the position seemed to
be inconsistent mildly. Let's play cut twenty one, please, Rob.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
I'm very focused on loring costs for residents for businesses.
That includes energy costs. One thing we don't need is
energy supply to our region cut off, and unfortunately that's
what we're seeing by the Trump administration. Remember I stopped
two gas pipelines from coming into this state.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Remember I stopped two gas pipelines from coming into this day.
Wouldn't it be nice if we had those two gas
pipelines Now, I went back and found a story out
of the Boston Globe on May twelfth to support what
I'm suggesting tonight. This is a piece that was written
by Sabrina Shankman and the Boston Globe on May twelfth,
twenty twenty two. It would have been just a few
(06:18):
days after that statement that then Attorney General mar Heley made.
So the article begins Attorney General mar Healey, who two
years ago prompted the state to begin mapping the phase
out of natural gas in Massachusetts, is now asking it
to scrap the blueprint. Emerging from the process, saying it
(06:40):
favors gas company profits over a healthy climate. The governors,
then the Attorney General is quoted as saying we should
be setting the path for an energy system that is equitable, reliable,
and affordable, not one that pumps more money into gas
pipeline and props up utility shareholders, said Healey, who is
(07:04):
running for governor. A one hundred and six page document
filed with the state Department of Public Utilities late last week.
This again is in May of twenty two. Healey said
the agency's decision making process should be overhauled to prioritize
climate goals over the health of utilities, currently one of
(07:26):
its functions. So the governor will be seeing I suspect
plenty of ads this winter from the Republicans who are
seeking the Republican nomination. Remember, the next governor's race is
not this fall, its next fall. It's so thirteen months away.
Thirteen months from now, Governor Healey will have stood for
(07:48):
reelection and either been re elected or turned out of office.
But I just want to open up the phone lines
and get a sense from all of you, how tough
do you think it's going to be. This win I
think it's going to be really tough. I think we
are going to see some power shortages uh and and
(08:08):
I think we're going to see some higher power bills.
And the politicians will blame the utility companies because because
the politicians have not done their job looking into the
crystal ball of the future, there was a real push
to get rid of anything that's fossil fuels related. And
(08:29):
we're going to pay a price for that, whether we
like it or not. Six one seven, two, five, four
ten thirty six one seven nine three one ten thirty.
What are your hopes for this winter? Other than moving
to Florida? What are your hopes for this winter? How
will you keep your bill down?
Speaker 4 (08:45):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Or can you Obviously you can't control the weather. You
can control your thermostat, you can control some conditions in
your home. Let's talk about some tips where we can
all help each other save some money. Six seven, four,
ten thirty six seven, nine thirty. My name is Dan Ray,
and this is Nightside, coming right back.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
So we're talking about utility rates this winter, and I
fear they are going up. And we talked last hour
with Matt Ben's of ACU Weather joining us now is
the candidate one of the three candidates who are running
for the Republican nomination. Mike Kenneely, Mike, welcome to Nightside.
How are you, sir?
Speaker 5 (09:33):
Hey Dan Graat with you? Thank you?
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Well, you have jumped on this issue and the apparent
contradictions of what the governor was doing while attorney general
and what she is saying now. Is there any way
to reconcile those those seemingly conflicting statements in your mind?
Speaker 5 (09:54):
Well? I don't think so. I mean three years ago.
I think it was in a debate or some kind
of a form before she was running for governor. She said,
remember I shut down two natural gas pipelines. I guess,
trying to force for her audience how serious she was
about shutting down natural gas in Massachusetts.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Yeah. By the way, that was when she was running
for governor, because that was according to the timestamp on
the sound bite, it was April of twenty two, and that.
Speaker 5 (10:20):
Well there you go, yeah, yeah, right for governor.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
She's running for the governor. And I don't know if
it was at a full blown gubernatorial debate or but right,
that was her position then and.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
That's right, that's right. So she wanted the audience to
know she was shutting down national gas pipelines. And then
earlier this week, I had said she's serious about the
fact that gas and energy's too expensive and she's in
favor of bringing more supply in and also said that
she's always been a favorite more supply. And so we
looked at those two quotes side by side, the quote
(10:54):
three years ago, you know, bragging about shutting down pipelines,
and the quote this week saying she was never in
favor of shutting down supply. And so, to answer your question, Dan,
you can't explain it. I guess maybe one explanation that
started to be a little cynical here is that just
did two different elections to a very different political contexts.
But I really think leaders owe it to be candid
(11:17):
with the voters and speak clearly and not contradict themselves
that way and not try to pretend it didn't happen.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yeah, at some point, I'm sure this is going that
we're going to hear a lot about that. We If
you remember, there was one point several years ago when
there were a lot of fires and she made the
comment that's how forests grow, right, That kind of was
a moment in time. Also, I wanted you to comment
(11:46):
on August twenty sixth. Really, I had not noticed this
as much of a story. The governor's the Heally Driscoll
administration appointed two new DPU commissioners and focused on lowering
costs and increasing energy supply. I thought those commissioners served
(12:09):
as like a three year term and every year one
of them would come up for renewal. Were you aware
that there were two of the commissioners who are now
former commissioners were replaced the chair whose last name was
van Nostrin On James van Nostrin, and commissioners Cecil Frasier.
(12:31):
They were replaced in August. On August twenty sixth, I
don't think that story got much of much play. Were
you aware of that at the time.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
I was, and it didn't get a lot of play.
And I think, again, we really need to call attention
to these times. Let's start with the basic facts, which
is energy is way too expensive here at Massachusetts. I
think the last time I looked, were number three in
the country among the fifty states, so behind Hawaii and California,
and our energy cost serve about fifty percent higher than
the national average. So we've got to do something about this.
(13:04):
And I've been saying for a long time that Governor
Heally does not have an energy policy. She has a
climate agenda, and the climate agenda is one we do
shut down natural gas pipelines. And you have all these
charges on utility bills. I call them the green gimmicks
that are meant to facilitate an energy transition, as they
call it, with solar panel charges and other things. And
(13:25):
so this has been the Heally approach to energy, or
just lack of an approach, And so I think you're
seeing things now that are meant to imply that it's
been a very different course, whether it's personnel changers or
the comment this week about I've hope she's never been
in favor of shutting down supply. So if Dan, it
feels like, honestly, they're scrambling a bit here as we
enter an election season knowing that the course they pursued
(13:46):
has not been advantageous for consumers and businesses. We got
a real problem here, But what I don't see are
our real solutions to the problem. And a real solution
would be hey, let's get those natural gas pipelines here.
Let's have more supply. And I've been staying for a
long time now. Energy is in market just like anything
else in any market, the law of supply and demand
(14:07):
is undefeated. You want lower price, you got to bring
in more supply. So we're not seeing serious steps. We're
seeing some steps that are meant to signal that there's
going to be action, but they're not serious attempts to
solve the problem.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Well, bad news for the governor, no matter. There's nothing
that could be done now in terms of bringing new
gas pipelines in that's going to impact what heating bills
would be in November, December, January, February, March, in April.
Speaker 5 (14:34):
That's right, that's absolutely right now.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
I mean that horse has left the proverbial blard.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
It has.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
We're living now with the consequence of bad policy choices
for years, and yes, it will take some time to
undo that. But the goodness is we can have a
new governor here not too long and starts down a
much better path. But but you're right in terms of it,
there's no really easy short term fixes to this. Well,
there would be a short term fix to getting the
charges off our bills and all these delivery charges and
(15:04):
solar charges and those things that would be relatively easy.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
How do you how do you do that? How do
you do that? Mike? I mean that could that be
done by a gubernatorial stroke of the pan of gubernatorial
fiat executive the equivalent of executive order.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
But my understanding is some of it could, some of
it might require some legislative approval. But you know, I'll
highlight a couple of things. This this Mass Save program,
which is very expensive, and I point people to the
work the auditor did on this a couple of weeks ago,
and analysis of the mass Save programs basically says you've got,
you know, poorer community subsidizing wealthier communities who want to
(15:41):
have solar panels and things like that. The program is
not is not not helping the people's designed to help,
but the biggest problem you have, the biggest overarching problem.
And by the way, I want to credit the Mass
Fiscal Alliance for their work on this as well. I
think we had two very similar social media posts on
the on the the different videos of the governor.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Heally, I was trying to figure out which came first.
Kind of a chicken in an egg situation. Yeah, okay,
And so we leave that as an open question. But
you addressed that with me earlier today. I wanted to
make sure that the that the comments were an accurate reflection.
If the governor were to challenge your statements. I assume
(16:23):
you'd be willing to join her some night on the
show here, n okay. I just wanted to make sure
that just in case, because I'd like to keep it fair.
Go ahead.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
Yeah, but mass Bisco has also done a great job
pointing out that one of the overapching problems here is
this mandate that the state become net zero by twenty fifty,
and that was done legislative, but we'll have to get
to be undone legislatively. And what that does, Dan is
basically empowers the biocracy to create all these other mandates
(16:54):
around what kind of cars we can drive, what kind
of trucks we can drive. It's even a proposal to
limit our number of miles we can drive, how to
heat our homes, but this is a legally and.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
What to use to cook your meals as well, exactly. Yeah, Well,
this is a pervasive, in my opinion, intrusion by government.
Speaker 5 (17:14):
I mean but curious, sure is it's government mismanagement, micromanagement.
But again it gets back to the fact that there's
this legislative mandate, so some of the charges can come
off the bills by executive action. But the root cause
of the problem, in my view, is this net zero
by twenty fifty. We've got to get rid of that,
and we've got to have a serious energy policy, not
(17:36):
an out of control ideological climate agenda.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Well, I think I think you're correct in that, in
the sense that there was a push in this country
and in this state for the last twenty twenty five
years when people like John Kerry and elgol were telling
us that the sky was falling and that this was
going to happen, and that the waters were going to rise,
(18:00):
and I mean all of that. And one of the
things that I always tried to point to to my friends,
I said, well, you know, I believe that the climate changes,
but I think that the climate goes back and forth.
When I was in graduate school back in the nineteen seventies,
I remember, and you're probably not old enough to remember,
(18:21):
but you can go look it up. Newsweek and Time Magazine,
which were two very very important weekly news journals, really
important news journals. They had cover stories essentially heralding the
coming ice age that we were moving. No, I'm serious.
These were headline stories, Mike, and you can go find them.
(18:42):
They're out there.
Speaker 6 (18:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
And then so either the climatologists were wrong then or
they're wrong now. You can have it both ways. And
what happens is I say to friends of mine, I said, look,
I think think President Obama was one of the smartest
presidents we ever had, and I mean that seriously. And
(19:06):
they said, well, why does that impact your view of
climate change? He bought it was an eighteen acre estate
at sea level in Marthe's vineyard. I'm being totally serious.
You know that's intended. It's a serious comment. I don't
think that if President Obama truly thought we were on
(19:27):
the precipice of seas rising, you know that he would
have bought that property on Marthe's Vineyard. In my opinion, now,
so I think we need to be concerned about it,
and I hope you think we need to be concerned
about it. But at the same time, we also have
to understand that that winters here in New England can
(19:48):
be very tough, and I don't want people freezing to death.
Speaker 5 (19:52):
No, it's exactly right, Dan. Maybe two other comments in
that regard. One is that if you believe that global
emissions or a problem, we should look at the fact
that Massachusetts, last time a check, represents zero point one
percent of emissions globally. And so this is right. And
so we're doing the damage greatly, damage our economic competitiveness
(20:14):
or our cost of living, our ability to produce housing,
and do lots of other things for the sake of
trying to optimize point one percent of emissions. That that
feels like policies that are misplaced. But the other is that,
you know, part of the very definition of governing the
leadership is being able to sort through competing priorities. And
so I'll point out to the fact that that's not
(20:35):
the case in the Healthy administration. She has a climate chief.
And my understanding is the cabinet secretary's report not just
to the governor, but to the climate chief. And so
if you are the housing secretary or the transportation secretary,
you've got to have your plans vetted by the climate chief.
I mean, give me a break, it's the job of
the row through competing priorities. Not to put your thumb
(20:58):
on the scale and have everything by the climate agenda.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
But I but I do think that there's a there
are voices, you know who are who believe it's you know,
it's not like they disbelieve what they're saying. They believe, Uh,
they are over they have an overwhelming influence within Democratic
primary voters. And therefore, you know, people who want to
get a nomination within the Democratic Party have to you know,
(21:25):
dance to the tune of those party activists. And whether
it's you know, climate issues or bike lean issues, which
all of which kind of are inter interwoven, you would
be you would be politically suicidal if you chose to say, gee,
I'm not quite sure of all of this. So uh,
I hope you, Mike stay on top of this, and
(21:47):
I hope the other Republican candidates stake out their positions
as well, so that voters have a choice in the
Republican primary and uh, and that voters have a choice
come next September October as we move into the election
in November.
Speaker 5 (22:04):
Well, I think that's right, Dan, It's clear we need
new leadership in Massachusetts. I do believe I'm the only
Republican that could actually defeat Governor Heally. We need leadership desperately.
And when I launched my campaign back in April, i'd
launched with three basic themes around affordability, opportunity, and better government.
But the affordability piece is real, and this is really
hurting our household, our businesses. People are leaving the state
(22:27):
every month, every year because they simply can't afford to
live here. Companies are making different decisions of it where
they're going to put their net new jobs Massachusetts versus
somewhere else. But this is an enormous competitive disadvantage for
us and a real pain point for our consumers and
our smallest businesses and everybody. And so we need a
governor that's serious about affordability, not just paying lip service
(22:48):
to it. And Governor Heally, I hear it save the
word affordability a lot, but I'd ask, where are the
real strategies to drive a much stronger affordability policy. We're
just not saying it.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Conneely candidate for Governor, How folks, How can folks might
be interested in your campaign get in touch with you.
Speaker 5 (23:05):
I go to Mike Kenneely dot com. It's got information
about about myself and my trek work and my experience
that the priorities I have as a candidate and we'll
have as governor, which have been informed by now twelve
years working in full time in public service in Massachusetts
and of a lot of travel around the state. I've
done seventy public events, speeches, and lots of media appearances
(23:29):
and lots of engagement with voters. That's informed my view
on what has to happen here. But it's been a
great process of listening, learning, and and campaigning for a
job where you can get a lot of good done
for the people in Massachusetts. And that's what I'm all about.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
Okay, Well, well, thanks very much for calling in tonight.
I appreciate it. Mike kennely k E N N E
A L L Y if I'm not missing O L
what l Okay, I've they got to correct that. Okay,
glad we did that. Okay, sounds great. Appreciate it, Mike,
Thank you very much.
Speaker 5 (24:01):
Appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Thank a little bit late for the news break. Here's
what I want to do again. I'm not looking to
turn this into politics, but I wanted to make sure
that the sound that we were using is an accurate
reflection of what the governor said at a point in
the past as opposed to what's going on today. Obviously,
I think everyone is concerned about higher prices because whether
you pay it as an owner or a condominium owner
(24:24):
of a home, or as a renter, And if you
don't pay it directly as a as a renter, I'm
sure it will be reflected in your lease payments. So
I'd love to hear from you. How concerned are you
about the upcoming winter and what impact it may have
on your familya's budget Number one? Tell us who you
(24:45):
think might be able to have some solutions and how
did we get into this problem where we apparently do
not have enough pipelines coming into New England h and
when when there's a shortage of product, obviously the price
of that product increases, which eventually is going to be
passed on to all of us as consumers. We haven't
(25:06):
talked about this in a while. Feel free got some
wide open lines six one, seven, two, five, four to
ten thirty six one seven, nine, three one ten thirty
If you're a resident not only in Massachusetts, been anywhere
within the sound of our voices, winter is coming and
with winter will come difficult, colder weather and higher energy
(25:28):
prices and higher energy bills. And do you agree with
the gentlemen who you just heard, or do you agree
with the governor that maybe we need to continue on
this road even though it's going to cost us, it
will save us uh in the in the long run.
I'm somebody who's concerned, frankly about climate change, but I
(25:50):
do not think that our response to it needs to
be as draconian as it's been six one, seven, two, five,
ten thirty six one seven, nine three, one ten thirty.
Coming right back on side right after this.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
I want to see what people think as we head
towards the winter. I don't care where you are within
the sound of my voice unless you live down in
Key West, Florida. Winter can be tough, particularly here the
further north you go. Let me go to is it Lilah?
Have I pronounced it correctly? Lilah? Hi, La Lilah in Midfield? Hi, Lilah, Welcome. Hi.
Speaker 6 (26:29):
I've got sort of a little different post on this
and at home to help people as far as going
into winter buys, I have had to live on a
very tight budget for many years. Okay, And several years
ago I was with friends and I was talking to
(26:52):
a man that worked for an oil company, and I
said to him, I heat with oil. I said, do
I we have to leave my furnace on off spring
and summer and fall when it's wamish, Because no, he said,
when you need hot water for a shower or bath,
(27:13):
or the washer dryer or whatever you need it for,
turn the furnace on. Then when you don't need that
hot water, shut the furnace off. And he said, no
oil company is going to tell you that, okay, because
the business.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
I used to purchase oil when we lived in not
in a town next to yours, many years ago, from
an oil company out in your neck of the woods,
might be the same company. I was always under the
impression that and I could be dead wrong here, but
I was under the impression that if you turned Europe
(27:53):
your furnish off, it took a long time to you know,
to warm the water up for hot showers, and that
that maybe I was lazy, but it wasn't like you
turn on the gas stove to uh, you know, to
to cook a pot of soup or something, or to
(28:13):
uh heat a kettle uh for a cup of tea,
that it took time to get it up, to get
the heat up so that the the the shower would
be comfortable. And of course most people in the morning,
you get up and you want to jump in the
shower when it's you don't want to spend half an
hour running running down solid turning the the the furnace on.
(28:37):
But but maybe there's people out there who know even
more about it. Well, the idea say, they certainly know
more about it than I do. Maybe they'll they'll confirm
hopefully if that is true, that's it, And that's a
great tip. But I want people maybe to get that confirmed,
uh and so they're not miss layed. Okay, but that's right.
Speaker 6 (28:57):
I've been I've been doing this first really years now.
And leave me. It works and the furnace comes on
right away. And when you hit the switch absolutely you
know how long.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
So let me ask you a lile, how long does
it take for you to get the So if you
leave it off for a day or so, obviously it
goes down in the temperature goes down. How long does
it take you with your furnace to get it back.
So when you get in the shower, you know, you
feel it's a warm shower or hot shower.
Speaker 6 (29:31):
Okay, I would say maybe ten minutes, maybe fifteen the most.
That's that's nothing. That's nothing, and you're saving and you're
saving all that money, and well, you.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Know, that's a great that's a great tip. And by
the way, I thank you for calling, and I hope
that there will be someone out there who can confirm
that for us. So maybe a couple of people can
confirm that, because it makes all the sense in the world.
Your first time call it tonight.
Speaker 6 (30:00):
No, I've called you before, okay.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
And thank you for this call, particularly because we may
save ourselves. And it's the sort of thing that I
don't have oil in the properties that that I live
in now. But I'll have to find out if that
applies to other other heat sources as well.
Speaker 6 (30:19):
I don't know. I don't know. I don't know anything
about gas. I just know about the oil, all right.
I've had no furnace problems all these years, so and
I get it maintained every year, Lila, thank you.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Well, that's the most important thing. When you have a furnace,
you got to have. I used to have a company
out there that came every year, and I felt that
I never want that, never want the furnace to fail. Lila,
thank you so much for your call. Let's see if
others out there who maybe are in the are in
the business, are in the field, will confirm what you
have to say. Thanks, Lila, appreciate it.
Speaker 6 (30:55):
I hope, I hope somebody will. Okay, thank you, I
love the show. Okay, right back.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
At you, good night. Six one seven, two, five, four
ten thirty. Those lines will open. The other line is full.
We'll get to a Jean and Harrison uh in just
a moment. But if you want to get on, and
particularly if you know the business, uh, you heard what
Lilah had to say. I don't want to mislead people,
but if that is true, that's a pretty good tip.
(31:21):
And if you if you're looking to save money, I
want to know if there's someone out there in the
oil business that can confirm that for us. I would
appreciate it a lot. Six one, seven, two, five, four
ten thirty. I will tell you we're going to change
topics at ten o'clock and we're going to talk about
what may happen in Venezuela in the days and uh
maybe hours ahead. We'll get to all of that, but
(31:44):
feel free to join the conversation. Six the only line six, one, seven, two, five, four,
ten thirty. Fill it up right now. Coming back on
night Side.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
It's Night's Eye with Dan Ray on w Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Okay, let's go back to the call. It's going to
go to Gene and Averagene. Welcome next on n side,
checking out.
Speaker 4 (32:03):
Thank you. This is a great subject, and I really
think that state government has mismanaged and barely paid attention
to our outlook of our energy needs gas oil and electric.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
Well they were paying attention last March and all of that,
but they were asleep at the switch before that. That's
my concern. What do you have? Right?
Speaker 4 (32:22):
We have deer in the headlights deer in the headlights syndrome?
Speaker 2 (32:27):
What do you have for uh you are you electric?
Are you gas? You oil? What are you? What do you?
What do you use?
Speaker 4 (32:35):
I have? I have a boiler. I have a gas boiler.
But I need, I do need to have some insulation
around my doors and I have two fireplaces which I
want to figure out how to you know, insulate to
keep the cold here from those even though.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
They do you use Do you use the fireplaces in
the winter?
Speaker 4 (32:57):
I don't because it seems to.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Okay, which is fine. Do you have the flu? But
if I needed to, do you have the flus closed?
Speaker 4 (33:10):
I do close them in the winter years.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
Okay. Well that's good. Okay, that's fine.
Speaker 4 (33:14):
But I think I might need to insulate a little more.
But here's the thing. You know, it would be great
if you could have a guest who knows how to
tell people what things they can do in their house.
Because I've been, I've read, I looked up a lot.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
And let me ask you this, Jeane, let me help you.
Do you own your own home? Yes?
Speaker 4 (33:33):
I do?
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Okay?
Speaker 4 (33:34):
Is just single family two floors?
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Yes, single family two floors. I would suggest you contact
mass Save okay, because that is a program that actually
can help you and also gives you stuff.
Speaker 4 (33:49):
No, I agree. I do know about them. But the
one company that when I found out about them, that
I was referred to, they want to pump and into
my walls from outside. I'm not doing any of that.
I want laid in my attic.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
Yeah, Gene, Gene, I'm not going to talk to you
about what you want, what you don't want. All I
suggested to you was mass saved. If you've already been there,
done that not a problem. I I I think that's
something that is free and it doesn't cost you anything
for them to come and give you you But you've
had you've done it, so that's no problem.
Speaker 4 (34:26):
I did do it before and they really didn't do
too much to gain.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Okay, well again, if it didn't work, that.
Speaker 4 (34:34):
They're not as good as they're supposed to be anyway.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
But well maybe you're right. Maybe you're right. So I
don't know what other advice to give you, but I
got to keep nothing.
Speaker 4 (34:42):
Okay, if you appreciate, have a guest on would be great.
Speaker 2 (34:46):
Yeah, we can do that. Yeah, we'll try to do that.
Speaker 4 (34:48):
It'll be great. Okay, have a good night, Thanks.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
Great night, good night. Okay. Harrison is up in New Hampshire. Harrison,
you were next to Nightside. Welcome.
Speaker 7 (34:57):
Hi, thank you, Dan. I just wanted to say I'm
what you would consider a liberal, but I love listening
to your show on your topics, your topics and your analysis,
your viewpoints. So I wanted I wish I had a tip,
but I want us to kind of bring up like
the company's responsibility and these affordability crises when we're talking
(35:17):
about energy like National Grid. And I guess like also
kind of a question too, because with these the service
charges on the bills, it's not our you know what
I mean, It's like not just the electricity, it's like
all these added fees too. I went through it with
my internet. I was like, why I started paying like
twenty something and now it's up to like almost one hundred.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
So I just think, is that in the winter time?
You mean one hundred of months?
Speaker 1 (35:46):
Oh?
Speaker 7 (35:47):
For electricity? Mine just goes up in the winter anyway,
because I use it. It's not one hundred of months.
I share it. I live in a family home, but
I use a space heater because it's so cold, So
we'll go for that reason.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
What I was asking Harrison, and I was just curious,
if you're in New Hampshire, obviously that's a cold state.
I'm just curious, how expensive do you live in a
single family home? Do you live in an apartment? Give
me an.
Speaker 7 (36:13):
I'm working a job in New Hampshire. I live in
Watertown and I have it's a three level. I'm in
the basement and my It was my uncle's house that
he passed away, and my cousin and his fiance live
the second floor, and then there's tenants on the third.
Speaker 2 (36:26):
Okay, so you just have you just had the basement.
And over time, how long have you lived there? A
couple of years, longer three years? Three years? So over
those three years have your have your heating bills gone
up a lot or a little or have they stayed
the same?
Speaker 7 (36:42):
Well, I can only my cousin handle that. I just
I've seen a lot like online these service charges, to
be honest, I Internet Internet went on and you know
that's I just think like they work in kind of
these the Biden's credit like the jug fees and all that.
But I and also the supermarkets too, because like it
(37:03):
might be a conspiracy, but after the pandemic, it was
an excuse to raise prices to the supply chain. But
I think that they're kind of they're responsible for the
price gouging too, Like we get squeezed, and I think
that's why the market basket flight was so important.
Speaker 2 (37:17):
But by the way, yeah, and by the way, you
and I made different but I agree with you. There
are products that before the COVID crisis. Yes, they would
cost let's say, I don't know, you know, two forty
nine or two for five dollars, and now they're for
ninety nine. And I'm talking about you know, I want
(37:40):
to do my awaken when indy. But I'm also I
can eat cookies and stuff like that, I refuse to
buy them, Harrison. My attitude is I may be the
only person, but I do believe in the free market.
And if I'm not gonna let you gouge me, I
can find different cookies, I can find different items. I'll
eat more fruit, which is probably but with energy bills,
(38:03):
it's kind of tough. And uh and we're going to
tell you. I hear about this a lot this winter,
and I hope, I really do hope that you will
stay with us. And I thank you for your kind
comments at the beginning, because I want all points of
view in my program.
Speaker 7 (38:17):
I really well. I think it's important to build bridges,
and I thank you for that.
Speaker 2 (38:21):
Absolutely. I'm more than happy. And you are part of
that process by by listening. Tell your friends about Nightside,
and you call in anytime next hour. We're going to
talk about uh Is Venezuela on Donald Trump's next on
Donald Trump's hit list. Thanks Harrison, this is your first
time calling.
Speaker 7 (38:38):
Yeah, first time you got to give you a pause.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
I'll look forward to call it for your second call.
Thanks Harrison very much. Getuated, have a great weekend, stay warm.
We get back, we will talk about what's going on
in Venezuela. I think a lot's going on down there,
and the stage is being set, and the stage may
already be set. Coming back on night side right after
the
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