Historically Belmont’s Select Board has served as its Municipal Light Board. Following a Town Meeting vote in approval of Article 2 on May 3, 2021, however, a new elected, 5-member Municipal Light Board, separate from the Select Board is being chosen at the April 5, 2022 Town Election in accordance with M.G.L., Ch. 164, sec. 55. Two candidates will be elected to 3 and 2 year positions. 1 candidate will be elected to a 1 year position.
The Municipal Light Board acts as the general policy and oversight board for Belmont Light. By statute, the Municipal Light Board is responsible for:
- Hiring, firing, setting the compensation for, and providing general direction to the General Manager of Belmont Light.
- Acting as the general policy and oversight board for Belmont Light.
- Approving the department’s rates and terms and conditions, with the recommendation of the General Manager.
- Reviewing the annual audited financial reports from the General Manager.
- Approving and signing annual reports submitted to the Department of Public Utilities by Belmont Light.
- Voting on the annual budgets submitted by the General Manager.
- Determining when and how depreciation funds should be appropriated in accordance with state law.
- Acting as the Chief Executive Officers for the purpose of collective bargaining with labor unions (in Belmont Light’s case, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 104).
Click the link below to read the candidate’s response to our survey!
Three year position (vote for two)
David Beavers
| Name | David Beavers |
|---|---|
| I’m a candidate for: | Municipal Light Board |
| I am running as a: | First-time candidate |
| Volunteer & community activities? (optional): | Served on the Belmont Light Board Advisory Committee (LBAC) for 4 years. Helped establish Friends of PQ Park as a 501 c3 non-profit, raised money for the refurbishment of the PQ Park playground, and serve on the Board as the current President. Coached Belmont youth flag football teams. |
| Candidate’s Statement: | Please provide a short statement (100-200 words) about why you are running. (You may re-use or expand upon your LWV statement.) |
| It’s been a pleasure serving on the Light Board Advisory Committee (LBAC) for four years to help Belmont Light define and realize goals that better serve our community. I hope to continue this work while serving as a newly elected board member. Over the past twenty years, I have helped public and private organizations, including utilities, with energy programs and projects. Based on this experience, I have been impressed with the staff at Belmont Light in their dedication to their work and their responsiveness to the community. Being a small non-profit utility has distinct advantages. However, being small means Belmont Light does not have a large staff or budget to tackle a growing list of opportunities and challenges. As stated in Belmont Light’s 2020¬–2025 Strategic Plan “The utility sector has never seen such a rapid evolution of technology and customer expectations.” Thus, I believe the new Board must work with Belmont Light management to prioritize goals to ensure that resources are used effectively. This is why it is critical to have Board members that bring relevant experience and can dedicate the time required to comprehend new opportunities and challenges to make informed decisions. | |
| Question: Challenges Ahead: | What do you see as the unique challenges facing your office over the next 3 years? If elected, what will you propose as a strategy to meet those challenges? |
| Candidate’s Answer: | My thoughts on challenges, and opportunities, for Belmont Light, below. Reliability Belmont Light has had consistently high metrics for power reliability and customer satisfaction. Going forward, one challenge to maintaining this level of excellence will be in recruiting and maintaining qualified workers as older workers retire. Belmont Light will have to offer competitive pay and benefits to maintain a skilled workforce. Sustainability Belmont Light’s Power Supply Policy calls for 100% non-emitting energy in 2022. This meets the targets set in the Town’s Climate Action Roadmap. This Policy is due for an update in 2022, including continuing support for Town’s climate objectives, and the challenge, I believe, will be to set a long term strategy that is environmentally, financially and politically sustainable for Belmont Light for years to come. Affordability The cost of living in Belmont is high, but the good news is, due to owning our own utility, our electric rates are not. Belmont Light residential rates have been running at 20% to 30% lower than comparable rates in neighboring communities served by an investor-owned utility. This is due, in part, to a power purchasing strategy that “hedges” against price spikes in wholesale energy. Belmont Light is not immune from inflation, but continuing this strategy, and purchasing cost-competitive renewable energy, which is becoming more available, should help control power costs. From an equity standpoint, Belmont Light offers one of the most generous low-income discounts in the state of Massachusetts for customers that qualify. |
| Question: Strategic Electrification | Strategic electrification is a strategy that is attracting a lot of attention. Could you explain your understanding of this concept, whether you support it and why you believe that is it important (or not) to ratepayers? |
| Candidate’s Answer: | Simply put, strategic electrification is using electricity derived from clean energy sources in lieu of burning fossil fuels. Heating and transportation are the two prominent targets for replacement, with domestic hot water and cooking rounding out a complete transition. In addition to the environmental benefits, electrification can help Belmont Light financially by utilizing our distribution grid more efficiently. Belmont Light is in a good position to vigorously pursue electrification. First, our newly revamped distribution system has the capacity to support the higher loads. Second, the Time of Use (TOU) pilot which has just been started, can demonstrate how to lower the operating costs for heat pumps and electric vehicles, which primarily draw power in off-peak periods, while sustaining Belmont Light financially. Third, NGRID, the natural gas utility that serves Belmont, is starting to offer electrification incentives. This is in response to a push at the state level to reach climate goals. For example, NGRID is planning to implement four district geothermal pilot projects, and it is possible a project could be sited in Belmont. Other NGRID programs, such as the current MassSave Air-Source-Heat-Pump rebate, can compliment Belmont Light incentives to reduce a customer’s cost to electrify their home or business. |
Travis Franck
| Name: | Travis Franck |
|---|---|
| I’m a candidate for: | Municipal Light Board |
| I am running as a: | First-time candidate |
| Volunteer & community activities? (optional): | Light Board Advisory Committee (chair), Library Volunteer at Wellington, Energy Committee, Structural Change Impact Group committee (chair), former Belmont Soccer coach, former Belmont Goes Solar organizer. |
| Candidate’s Statement: | Please provide a short statement (100-200 words) about why you are running. (You may re-use or expand upon your LWV statement.) |
| I’m running for Belmont’s Municipal Light Board to help guide Belmont Light’s transition to a 21st Century utility. Belmont Light is an award-winning municipal utility that has recently made significant progress incorporating renewable energy, while maintaining electricity rates that are lower than surrounding communities. As Chair of the Light Board Advisory Committee, I championed policies that kept prices low and decreased Belmont’s carbon footprint. My goal is to improve Belmont Light’s delivery of services in a fiscally responsible manner. I work for an energy and climate non-profit, after receiving my PhD from MIT in Engineering Systems. | |
| Question: Challenges ahead: | What do you see as the unique challenges facing your office over the next 3 years? If elected, what will you propose as a strategy to meet those challenges? |
| Candidate’s Answer | The electricity markets are going through a transition to renewable energy. The transition started over a decade ago, but the pace will increase in coming years because of new technologies, State policies, and the goals of residents in Belmont. Navigating the transition in a manner is fiscally responsible, appropriately paced (given climate science) and provides Belmont Light with flexibility in the future will be a touch needle to thread. I will continue to support Belmont Light’s awarding winning near-term plans and help Belmont Light look for new revenue and cost reduction opportunities, like batteries, TVs, and possible municipal broadband. |
| Question: Strategic Electrification | Strategic electrification is a strategy that is attracting a lot of attention. Could you explain your understanding of this concept, whether you support it and why you believe that is it important (or not) to ratepayers? |
| Candidate’s Answer: | Strategic electrification has to do with cutting carbon dioxide emissions. Currently, many residents in Belmont use natural gas or oil to heat our homes. Unfortunately, there is no way to burn these fuels in our homes and not release carbon emissions. Instead, we have lots of options to “decarbonize” the electricity we use from Belmont Light – wind, solar, battery storage, and hydro power (and throw in some energy efficiency). So, if we can transition our heating and cooking to electricity, and then transition our electricity to renewables, we can have all the same creature comforts at home without any carbon emissions. We make the planet better for our children (and improve our indoor air quality today!). Strategic electrification is even more important for Belmont, though, because we have a municipal light plant (MLP). Belmont Light is a community-owned resource that provides reliable power and great customer service to residents. Today, when we pay our gas and oil bills, we are sending money to utilities and fossil fuel companies in other states and even other countries – all that money leaves Belmont. When we electrify our heating, driving, and cook and buy more electricity from Belmont Light, the money stays closer to home. It makes Belmont Light more fiscally stable and has the potential, with the right transition and process, to keep rates stable. Electricity energy costs aren’t as prone to international events as oil and natural gas are. |
Two year position (vote for two)
Jeffrey Geibel
| Name | Jeffrey Geibel |
|---|---|
| Campaign Website (optional) | http://www.geibelpr.com/bmlb.htm |
| I’m a candidate for: | Municipal Light Board |
| I am running as a: | First-time candidate |
| Volunteer & community activities? (optional) | With board tenures at four not-for-profit organizations, I have 16-years’ experience as a board member. As a charter member of the Belmont Media Center board, I found their current Lexington Street studio location – when other available locations in Belmont were scarce, unsuitable or unaffordable. I am an award-winning video producer and director – co-producer of a series about individuals with sudden-onset disabilities. Also, a graduate of the Belmont Citizen’s Police Academy. |
| Candidate’s Statement | Town meeting voted by a huge 83% margin to change to an elected Light Board. Clearly, that signaled a desire for new leadership – Steve Jobs said: “Think different”. The challenge facing the Light Board is to get our 11,000 customers to understand, embrace and participate in our strategic electrification programs and adjust their electrical use to reduce demand on the Belmont grid set the path to get affordable power. In a word – that’s marketing – which is to clearly communicate the vision of strategic electrification, have Belmontians understand the value to them – and have a clear path for their participation. Sustainability takes understanding and committed action by Belmontonians. That will be my goal – getting buy in and participation – which has been clearly lacking. I would like to request your vote to start making progress to these goals. Reducing demand reduces the amount of power that has to be generated – which results in attaining decarbonation goals. |
| Challenges ahead | There are two major challenges – first, to get more participation in the 11 energy programs currently being offered – which have low participation, and secondly to prepare for the onslaught of massive Electric Vehicle (EV) demands on the grid – which it was not designed for. Projections are for 30% EVs by 2030 – which would be 5,400 EVs in Belmont requiring 540 chargers (one for each 10 EVs) – Belmont now has only 10 public chargers). More importantly – fully optimized charging which minimizes peak load impacts, and that could lower the incremental generation investment required in the 2040 decarbonization reference case by 50% . In other words – less need for generation = less carbon. This requires build-out of charger infrastructure and charger stations. New planning and engineering will be required for bi-directional loads (Using the EV battery a storage to feed back into the grid) Belmont is way behind in this kind of planning – I have seen nothing at all about it. It will be one of my goals. |
| Strategic electrification | Strategic electrification is typically defined as clean, dependable and affordable power. Belmont has attained 100% “green” (renewable-sourced) power. The other two aspects (dependable and affordable) are tougher – with the Belmont Municipal light system approaching maximum capacity (and in fact -projected to exceed that according the the Light Board’s projections for 2025 and 2030) – planning and implementation of demand-reducing programs and strategies re of the utmost importance. Oddly – nothing appears to have been done to plan for EV demand – and that will be one of my major focuses. Also – I have seen nothing concerning a town-wide initiative to electrify the town departments with EVs by helping the departments understand the procurement process (grants and rebates) or to aggressively install chargers in town parking lots and facilities. New York City is spending $12 million on Telsas for their police department (a police car is the most visible community vehicle land a clear commitment to strategic electrification – Belmont has no EVs for the police or other departments (some hybrids, perhaps) . |
Comments/Notes
Steve Klionsky
| Name | Steve Klionsky |
|---|---|
| I’m a candidate for: | Municipal Light Board |
| I am running as a: | First-time candidate |
| Volunteer & community activities? (optional): | Regarding the position I’m running for, a two-year seat on the newly-constituted Municipal Light Board, I have been a member of the Light Board Advisory Committee, providing advice to the Select Board and Belmont Light, our municipal electric company, for nine years and was chair of the Light Board Advisory Committee for five years. I have also served as a Town Meeting Member in Pct. 6 for over 20 years. |
| Candidate’s Statement: | Please provide a short statement (100-200 words) about why you are running. (You may re-use or expand upon your LWV statement.) |
| I am excited to be running for a two-year seat on the newly-constituted Belmont Municipal Light Board to continue my efforts to make Belmont Light as progressive an electric utility as possible. This means working together with the community and Belmont Light’s General Manager and staff to reduce Belmont’s carbon footprint, while at the same time ensuring that Belmont Light continues to provide reliable service at an affordable price. Renewable energy, electrifying energy sources and energy efficiency measures need to be promoted. My career has been in energy law and utility regulation. I have worked as a regulator with the state’s Department of Public Utilities overseeing utility companies, as a regulatory lawyer with a public utility, as the General Counsel of a state agency scrutinizing the siting of energy projects and, most recently, as a Special Assistant Attorney General on energy matters for Attorney General Maura Healey. I am the only candidate seeking a seat on the Municipal Light Board with legal, ratemaking and general regulatory expertise in the electric utility industry. | |
| Question: Challenges Ahead: | What do you see as the unique challenges facing your office over the next 3 years? If elected, what will you propose as a strategy to meet those challenges? |
| Candidate’s Answer: | When I took over as chair of the Light Board Advisory Committee in 2016, Belmont Light was in need of a new direction. I led the search committee that brought in a new General Manager that got Belmont Light back on track. And, through my leadership and in collaboration with the town’s Energy Committee, an Energy Supply Policy for Belmont Light was adopted in 2018 that detailed the responsibilities of Belmont Light in seeking renewable and non-carbon emitting energy. As a result of my efforts and others, I am proud to report that Belmont Light in calendar 2022 will be considered 100 percent green, leaving other utilities in the state far behind. While much progress has been made, there is much more for the Municipal Light Board to do as it takes over decision-making from the Select Board. Among them are: • Whether to offer electric rates that vary by time of day to residential customers. Right now, Belmont Light is in the midst of a year-long pilot program to determine the advantages of time of use rates. Other utilities have found that time of use rates have saved the utility and its customers money while also leading to some reduction in the overall use of electricity. But we must determine if these rates are right for Belmont. • Whether to install electric battery storage on a portion of the town’s old incinerator site off Concord Avenue. Storage of electricity to reduce the purchase of electricity at expensive times of the day is becoming more economically feasible and could lead to savings for Belmont’s customers. • Whether a solar farm is feasible on other portions of the old incinerator site. Like battery storage this could be a benefit to customers and would give Belmont Light control of some of its own power needs. • How to approach rate changes into the future. Belmont Light is in the midst of a rate analysis that will guide the need for future rate changes. I have considerable experience with rate setting and while some increases may be inevitable Belmont Light should always strive to keep any needed rate increase as small as possible, understanding that even a small increase can be difficult for residents, particularly low-income residents. |
| Question: Strategic Electrification | Strategic electrification is a strategy that is attracting a lot of attention. Could you explain your understanding of this concept, whether you support it and why you believe that is it important (or not) to ratepayers? |
| Candidate’s Answer: | As my candidate statement indicates, strategic electrification is a key effort as we battle to address climate change. We all know we need to move away from fossil fuels. To do that we need to electrify our energy uses (for example, by promoting the replacement of fossil fuel heating systems with high efficiency electric heat pumps) to take advantage of the wind and solar renewable energy that is being developed. Belmont Light has several strategic electrification programs that are good for the environment and may lead to a savings for customers. I helped implement and fully support. |
Michael Macrae
| Name | Michael Macrae |
|---|---|
| Campaign Website (optional) | https://tinyurl.com/michaelmacrae |
| I’m a candidate for: | Municipal Light Board |
| I am running as a: | First-time candidate |
| Volunteer & community activities? (optional) | – Current Vice Chair of the Belmont Light Board Advisory Committee, members since 2019. – Ambassador of the Belmont Heat Smart Alliance program – hosting open houses at my home to share understanding of Heat Pumps for Heating and Air Conditioning, design and rebate considerations, and a “what do they look like” perspective with Belmont Residents. – HeatSmart Alliance member – Massachusetts-wide organization advancing smart home heating technologies. |
| Candidate’s Statement | My motivation to serve on our town’s new Light Board is simple – to ensure low-cost electricity that is reliable and sustainable. I have worked in energy, budget management, policy, and facility operations for a decade, am a member of Belmont’s Light Board Advisory Committee (since 2019), am an ambassador for the Heat Smart Belmont program, and am knowledgeable of Belmont’s energy needs. My professional record shows I’ve got the experience to achieve our towns goals, and my years of volunteer work with Belmont Light demonstrates a commitment to service and excellence. I am excited to continue applying this expertise toward achieving our town’s energy priorities and maintaining Belmont Light’s award-winning reliability at low costs. I earned my PhD in Chemistry and am LEED accredited. I have lived in Belmont with my family since 2017 and we have been members of the Wellington School community since then. |
| Challenges ahead | – Maintaining our low costs for electricity: As a successful board member, I’ll bring a decade of experience and perspective from my work across the Northeast in energy, policy, and budget management to assist Belmont light in procuring clean energy that is reliable and affordable even through periods of tumultuous global disruption. – Maintaining high reliability: We rely on Belmont Light to always be there through storm and sun. This is the outcome of careful planning, prudent investments, and best-in-class staff. My experience with Harvard’s campus micro-grid as well as with the regional utility planning and reliability process will help ensure we maintain this award-winning reliability as cost-effectively as possible. – Greening Belmont’s energy mix: Local investments in clean energy matter, and towards this end, I will continue to share my experience working across our region’s wholesale energy markets, public utility commissions, and state clean energy development forums to facilitate Belmont Light’s progress towards 100% clean energy. – Consistent Customer Satisfaction: Our locally owned Light Department is here to serve us, and this is perhaps the most impactful opportunity where I hope to shine. Puns aside, over the coming years we will advance even better programs for heat pumps, EV, solar, smart appliance rebates, and so much more. One exciting area of growth is expanding our residential battery incentive program. I’ve helped develop several of these programs across the Northeast and know what it takes to do it well. That means more than just added back-up power in our homes, but also a financial savings model that supports cost-effective investment and a quick payback. |
| Strategic electrification | Strategic electrification is an important means to save – both on the costs to heat our homes, to drive our cars, etc., but also to improve our local air quality and cut greenhouse gas emissions. Examples of this include changing a gas hot water heater to electric, supplementing a boiler or furnace with a heat pump, or using an electric vehicle. Strategic electrification can bring significant cost-savings, and it also importantly changes how we power our lives. New England’s grid is on track to decarbonize and when we shift more of our cars and our homes to being powered by this ever-cleaner electric grid, we benefit by no longer needing to burn gasoline to drive a car, or burn pipeline gas to heat our home and water. Over the last decade I have consistently been at the forefront, helping to enable this important transition. I’ve held leadership positions within our regional grid stakeholder process, I’ve participated in the development of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of state-wide programs to cost-effectively unlock the benefits of renewables, batteries, energy efficiency, and electric vehicles. One of the most important perspectives I hope to bring to the Light Board is that this change happens best when well planned for and smartly managed. I saw this while helping to develop programs in multiple states to ensure electric vehicles and batteries are an opportunity instead of a liability. I’ve seen when it makes sense to pay to build out new grid capacity and when it makes sense to simply manage what we have better and most importantly, I know how to understand the difference. Please join me at the polls on April 5th and help me bring the most successful programs and customer engagement strategies from dozens of different states and utilities across New York and New England to our town. |
One year position (vote for one)
Andrew Machado
| Name | Andrew Machado |
|---|---|
| I’m a candidate for: | Municipal Light Board |
| I am running as a: | First-time candidate |
| Volunteer & community activities? (optional) | Belmont Youth Soccer coach since 2018; Butler elementary volunteer; former Transportation Advisory Committee volunteer in neighboring community |
| Candidate’s Statement | My family and I have enjoyed living in Belmont since 2010. I’ll bring direct experience of a 20-year professional career, much of it spent analyzing energy systems and providing guidance for utilities and their customers. I have worked with over 30 electric and natural gas utilities across the country and bring extensive experience to benefit Belmont’s residents and support Belmont Light’s continued reliability and excellence. My clients and friends would attest that I am insightful, organized, and hard-working. I am excited to give back and help our community, if given the opportunity. Please consider giving me your vote this April. |
| Challenges ahead | Belmont Light faces a number of challenges in the coming years. I am a candidate for the one-year seat, but I expect to be a stakeholder here in Belmont for many years to come. The energy industry is changing rapidly to adapt to climate concerns and to impose immediate change on power generators, distributors, and users. Belmont Light has been proactive thus far, but measured decision-making, holistic planning, and innovation will be needed going forward. I hope to participate in finding solutions that reduce Belmont Light’s risk, lower its environmental impact, and leverage the best technology and practices from around the world to keep Belmont leading the way. Belmont Light has also been extremely reliable over the years, a strength built upon an experienced, dedicated labor force. Attracting and retaining excellent people will be important to maintaining the reliability we have come to know and trust. Similarly, those same people will be needed to maintain a high level of customer service. I hope to help examine the compensation and benefits for Belmont Light’s excellent staff, and to help identify opportunities and great ideas to keep great workers and find new ones. Finally, part of Belmont Light’s mission is to deliver affordable energy for its ratepayers. Belmont has thus far kept its rates lower than peer utilities in the area, but the new Board will need to work closely with management, consultants, and stakeholders to balance a stable financial outlook for Belmont Light with the needs of its ratepayers. I hope to be able to support an equitable, data-driven assessment of the cost-of-service for all ratepayers, and to help ensure that everyone’s needs are considered in that process. One of the great strengths of a municipal utility is that its ratepayers and its owners are effectively the same people. Investor-owned utilities have an obligation to generate a profit for their shareholders; Belmont Light answers to the people it serves. This governance arrangement helps to support a lean utility with the same interests as its users. I hope to help guide Belmont Light as it continues to deliver safe, reliable, affordable power in the years to come. |
| Strategic electrification | Strategic electrification is a pathway to reducing harmful emissions from fossil fuels by transitioning the underlying energy source for various activities (heating, cooking, transport, etc.) from fossil fuels (natural gas, oil, gasoline, propane) to grid electricity. This effort goes hand-in-hand with “greening the grid,” or removing fossil fuels from electricity generation. Many states and organizations have committed to “greening the grid” along a certain timeline. However, Belmont Light is well ahead of the curve in that regard with 100% non-emitting electricity expected in 2022. Belmont Light is thus well-positioned to support immediate and meaningful electrification. I believe supporting this pathway will allow ratepayers to help reduce their carbon footprint without necessarily increasing their energy costs. At the same time, Belmont Light will be able to grow its revenue by expanding market share (displacing fossil fuels) and helping to keep those funds close to home in our community. |
Christopher William Morris
No survey received.