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• We Want to Hear from You!
• Stow Honored for Sustainability Efforts
• Hudson Light & Power Maintains Low Electric Rates While Getting Ready for the Future
• Legislative Update - PFAS Bill Advances

The Energize Stow newsletter strives to provide you with practical information you can use to make Stow a more sustainable community. We would love to hear from you about what you would be interested in reading or learning about. Please email us at GreenAdvisory@stow-ma.gov with your ideas. Thank you!

From left, Adam Baacke, Commissioner, Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance; Elizabeth Mahony, Commissioner, Department of Energy Resources; Stow Town Administrator Denise Dembkoski; Stow Green Advisory Chair Arnie Epstein; Rebecca Tepper, Secretary, Executive Office of Environmental Affairs; and Joanne Bisetta, Director, Green Communities Division, DOER, Department of Energy Resources. (Photo Courtesy Town of Stow)

The Town of Stow was recognized by the state with the 2025 Leading By Example Award for a community.  Pictured above is the award ceremony at the State House held on December 9th.  The Department of Energy Resources recognizes outstanding decarbonization, clean energy, and other environmental efforts among Commonwealth agencies, colleges, municipalities, and individuals.

Town officials and community members have spent more than a decade working toward and implementing sustainability initiatives. Stow has two groups focused on sustainability: Sustainable Stow - a volunteer group established in 2012 and the Green Advisory Committee - a town committee established by the Select Board in 2021.  Activities have included:: 

• The Stow Solar Challenge.  59 households installed rooftop solar.
• The Stow/Hudson HeatSmart initiative.53 homes had heat pumps installed.
• Retrofitting three municipal buildings to heat pumps with support from $893,000 in Green Communities grants.
• A $500,000 Building Decarbonization grant to support the renovation of Randall Library.
• Achieving a 20 percent reduction in municipal energy use.
• Acquisition of five electric vehicles for the Police and Building Departments.
• The 16th community in the state to adopt the Specialized Energy Code which encourages all-electric new construction.
• One of 19 communities in the state to be designated a Climate Leader under the new state program.  Climate Leader communities are eligible for state grants up to $1,000,000 to support decarbonization of municipal buildings.

“Being recognized by the Commonwealth with a Leading by Example Award is a tremendous honor and a testament to our community’s commitment to sustainability,” Select Board Chair Megan Burch-McMichael said. "This award reflects the hard work, collaboration, and forward-thinking efforts of our staff, volunteers, and residents who continue to make environmental stewardship a priority.” 

Hudson Light & Power Maintains Low Electric Rates While Getting Ready for the Future

Our electric utility, Hudson Light & Power (HLP), plays a key role in meeting Stow’s climate goals. As shown below, HLP has the lowest electric rates in the state, making the transition to electric vehicles and heat pumps for home heating particularly economical.

HLP also provides some of the cleanest electricity in the state thus providing savings for both your pocketbook and the climate.

As we transition away from dependence on fossil fuels for vehicles and buildings, our demand for electricity increases. This, in turn, requires increased capacity for the distribution lines that bring electricity to our homes and businesses, these distribution lines were constructed decades ago and were not sized in anticipation of electrification. It also means that our electric service must be resilient and reliable. HLP is taking steps to ensure they are ready to meet these demands including making investments to make the electric grid smarter which will minimize outages while also modestly increasing operational staff to be even better prepared for when the power does go out ensuring power is restored more timely and safely than ever before

The distribution lines that serve Stow are being upgraded to support this increased demand and add reliability. This past fall, HLP completed a major upgrade to the Hudson substation providing increased capacity and resilience to all customers.

These investments mean there will be a small increase in most customers' bills. Even with the increase, HLP will remain among the lowest cost utilities in the state. But the increase will impact some customers more than others. To address this, HLP is offering a Low-Income Discount for qualifying customers. For more information, visit the HLP website, call, or go to the HLP office.  

Legislative Update - PFAS Bill Advances

A bill to protect public health from toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS passed a key hurdle in the state Legislature after winning passage in the House from the Joint Committee on Public Health. 

The Act to protect Massachusetts public health from PFAS (H4870/S1504) filed by state Rep. Kate Hogan (Stow) and Senator Julian Cyr (Provincetown) would phase out per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in many products; cut industrial discharges of PFAS; and set up a fund to help communities test and treat PFAS in drinking water, soil, and groundwater. The House bill passed committee, and the Senate bill is pending action.

This issue is of particular interest to Stow residents because PFAS has been found in the water of several homes in the area including the town building and the First Parish Church in the center of town. 



Action: Call your Senator Jamie Eldridge who is a co-sponsor of the bill and thank him for his support and your hope that it would pass the Senate. You can reach his office at (617) 722-1120.

Thank your Rep. Kate Hogan for her continued work on the legislation. You can reach her at (617) 722-2600.