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Rowley MLP reports substation progress, battery storage project stalled; minutes approved
Summary
Commissioners at the Rowley Municipal Lighting Plant heard updates March 11 on a progressing substation project and a battery storage effort that Manager Matthew Brown described as "at a standstill." The board approved corrected minutes and was briefed on a new billing platform rollout.
Rowley Municipal Lighting Plant commissioners met remotely March 11 and received project updates from General Manager Matthew Brown, who said the plant’s substation work is advancing while a local battery storage project remains stalled.
General Manager Matthew Brown told the board the substation project "is going well," and said Colonial Excavating will begin trenching to transformer two while Powerline crews run underground conduit and control wires. Brown said pipe work should start Friday and the contractors expect to "button up by April, weather permitting." He invited commissioners to visit the site when convenient.
On battery storage, Brown said the project is "still at a standstill," and that staff have no new updates from Steve Burns of Citizens Energy. Commissioner Danby Whitmore asked whether a recently announced battery project in Everett might help move smaller projects here off hold, but Brown did not provide a timeline for resolution.
Brown also reported that the municipal solar program has 39 residential systems installed and that staff have received one additional inquiry about a new array. He summarized ongoing commercial construction work, noting activity at Kittery Avenue where crews are cutting over new transformers and taking down some old 5 kV wire, and work beginning at sites serving Chase Bank, Harborlights and The New England Asian Restaurant.
The board heard an operational update on customer billing. Brown said the plant will roll out a new billing and payment platform, Invoice Cloud, next month. The system will offer a dashboard with monthly usage, past invoices, and multiple payment options — including online, by phone and PayPal — plus text and email notices. Brown said monthly ACH payments will be discontinued but ratepayers may still opt for paper billing or pay in person; office drop-box and mail remain available.
Procedural business included approval of corrections to the Jan. 28, 2026 minutes. Commissioner Mark Cousins moved to accept the minutes with corrections; Commissioner Danby Whitmore seconded. A roll-call vote was recorded with Cousins, Chair Bryan DiPersia and Whitmore voting yes; the motion carried and is recorded at 5:33 PM in the minutes.
Mark Cousins later moved to adjourn and Whitmore seconded; the minutes record a unanimous roll-call vote to adjourn (the vote time is recorded in the minutes as 5:29 PM). The record notes there was no executive session.
Minutes were submitted by Office Manager Eric R. Grover. The meeting began with Chair Bryan DiPersia calling the meeting to order at 5:32 PM and took place remotely via GoToMeeting.
Next steps: Brown said he will provide the board with an agenda for the March 25 MEAM meeting in Littleton, Mass., and will continue to report on the battery storage effort if new information from Citizens Energy becomes available.
