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Stop & Shop is installing EV stations at a number of its 400 stores. Two are being put in at the State Road grocery and more at its Pittsfield locations.

EV Charging Stations Being Installed at County Stop & Shops

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The charging stations will provide up to 30 miles. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Stop & Shop's network of electric vehicle charging stations has reached the Berkshires.
 
The grocery on State Road has two stations installed so far and more stations are set to be installed at the Pittsfield locations. 
 
The regional supermarket chain began putting in the EV stations last July at stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island. 
 
The project is partnership with Volta Charging to install stations at participating stores that will allow customers to charge at no cost. 
 
"A Volta charging station is currently under construction at the North Adams Stop & Shop. Volta hopes this construction will be completed by month's end," said Stop & Shop spokeswoman Caroline Medeiros. "The Volta charging station at our Pittsfield store is at the beginning of the process and the timing for this location is TBD."
 
At every launched store, customers will be able to access two electric vehicle charging stations, featuring Volta Charging's high-resolution, two-sided digital displays. Customers with electric vehicles can park in the designated spaces and charge while they shop. On average, a Volta charging station can deliver up to 30 miles of range per hour.
 
"We're thrilled to partner with Volta Charging and offer our customers the benefit of electric vehicle charging at no cost," said Gordon Reid, president of Stop & Shop, in a statement released last July. "Providing this convenience allows us to do more than make things easier for our customers; it allows us to also make things better for the environment."
 
Stop & Shop has more than 400 stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. Volta Charging, part of Volta Industries, is working to develop a network that will "catalyze the shift from combustion-powered miles to electric miles," according to the press release. 
 
Volta has more than 2,200 stations, largely along the west and east coasts. The Stop & Shop stations will be the first in Berkshire County.

Tags: electric vehicle,   

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Letter: Rate Filing by Berkshire Gas Company

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

This is a testimonial letter submitted to the Public Utilities Commission:

Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities
Re: D.P.U. 25-170 – Rate Filing by The Berkshire Gas Company

To the Commissioners:

I write in unequivocal opposition to the rate increase proposed in D.P.U. 25-170 and, specifically, to challenge the excessive and unjustified return on equity (ROE) and capital structure assumptions embedded in this filing.

At its core, this case is not simply about infrastructure or cost recovery. It is about how much profit Berkshire Gas expects Massachusetts ratepayers to guarantee corporate interests regardless of economic conditions.

The requested ROE asks working families, seniors on fixed incomes, and small businesses to underwrite private shareholder returns that are insulated from the very market risks everyone else must bear.

That is not equitable, and it is not consistent with the Department's duty to ensure rates are just and reasonable.

A regulated monopoly is not entitled to premium-market returns without premium-market risk. Utilities operate with guaranteed customer bases, cost recovery mechanisms, and regulatory protections that dramatically reduce exposure compared to competitive enterprises. When risk is reduced, allowed return must follow. Anything else is a windfall at the public's expense.

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