The Block Island Utility District has accomplished a lot in its relatively short life and on Saturday afternoon, they celebrated with an annual meeting.
After years of planning, the BIUD really only came into being in late March, 2019, when, after getting enabling legislation passed by the Rhode Island General Legislature, it purchased the assets (land and equipment) of the Block Island Power Company. It was a final step in a series of transactionswhereby the town had purchased two-thirds of the stock of the Block Island Power Company. The original BIPCo changed its name to Island Light and Power, and the utility district is “doing business as” the Block Island Power Company.
The result is a ratepayer-controlled not-for-profit and such transformations from private to public are rare. One constant through the transition years has been the presence of President Jeffery Wright. After thanking everyone who works for the power company at the beginning of the meeting, BIUD Chair Barbara MacMullan announced that a new five-year contract with Wright had been agreed upon.For his part, Wright, who moved to Block Island with his spouse from Vermont to take the job, joked that the agreement was really with his wife.
