Real Estate & Property Law

A Risky Approach

By Alan Ackerman

iStockAnalyst

Getting rid of Unitil following the December power outages will be easier said than done, State Rep. Stephen DiNatale, D-Fitchburg, said this week.

DiNatale said all of the options under consideration will cost cities and towns a lot of money.

"That's the reality of it," DiNatale said. "You simply can't take over a company."

Leaders in the four Massachusetts cities and towns served by the Hampton, N.H.-based utility are all working to get rid of the company.

Townsend and Lunenburg are forming committees to study the feasibility of either starting a municipal utility or finding another alternative to Unitil.

Ashby selectmen want to push the state Legislature to allow for competition between utility companies and two Fitchburg city councilors are pushing an effort to take the city's electrical system from Unitil by eminent domain.

All four communities lost 100 percent power during the Dec. 11 ice storm. It took more than two weeks in some cases before the power was completely restored, prompting complaints about Unitil's response to the crisis.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities formally opened its investigation into Unitil's response this week.

The DPU will hold its first hearing at the Memorial Middle School in Fitchburg at 4 p.m. on Jan. 27.

Representatives with National Grid and Unitil declined to comment on the efforts to remove Unitil from the area…

Here, we have a writer simply assuming that payment of fair market value “will not be a problem” because the community will control the utility it desires to take over. This is a short sighted and risky approach.

Full post as published by National Eminent Domain Blog on January 19, 2009 (boomark / email).