New England Governors Announce Commitment to Explore Nuclear Energy

Maine Governor Janet Mills joined with a bipartisan group of New England governors on a regional commitment to explore advanced nuclear energy technologies to meet the region’s electricity needs in future years.

Mills joined Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte, Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee, and Vermont Governor Phil Scott to issue a joint statement outlining next steps to strengthen the region’s energy reliability, affordability, and long-term supply.

Adequate electricity supply is critical to growing our economies, preserving public health and safety, powering our homes and businesses, and stabilizing consumer prices as demand for electricity rises across the region. New England has a long tradition of collaborating on regional energy matters. As governors, we are committed to safeguarding our collective energy future through advancement of a diverse energy strategy that includes nuclear power, a pillar of New England’s electric system.

Examples of this coordination may include exploring innovative financing structures, Federal funding opportunities, public-private partnerships, and regulatory designs for advanced nuclear energy to protect consumers, meet regional energy needs, and enable New England to capture job growth and economic development opportunities.

The six New England states share a regional electricity grid, ISO-New England. Electricity consumption in New England is expected to increase more than 40 percent over the next 20 years, according to ISO-NE, especially in the winter, with ISO-NE’s latest forecast expecting that winter peak demand is projected to double by 2045.