The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 14

14 THE BOSTON GLOBE SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 1981 N.H.-Mass. electricity war States wrangle over use of hydro- and coal-generated power as each tries to avoid an additional $76 million in costs By Gary McMillan Globe Staff Massachusetts and New Hampshire, whose spats have ranged from 18th century border disputes to arguments over 20th century liquor sales, are at It again this time over hydroelectric power. New Hampshire has banned the export of Its cheap hydro power, so Massachusetts wants to force the Granite State to forgo coal power and buy only high-priced oil-generated electricity from Bay State power plants. And unless the problem is resolved, the people of one of the states will pay an additional $76 million a year on electric bills that are already among the nation'a highest, according to figures from the Massachusetts Energy Office. Both states currently get power from a mix of oil, nuclear and hydro plants through the New England Power Pool.

However, in October, almost half the system's total power will come from New England Elec-tric's coal-fired plant in Brayton Point near Fall River. Coal costs about half as much as oil and cheaper fuel costs will be reflected in the fuel adjustment surcharges on the bills of residents of both states. But, If New Hampshire sticks by its decision to keep hydro at home, Massachusetts officials warned yesterday, Massachusetts will attempt to keep its coal home and export only the more expensive oil-fired electricity. "If New Hampshire wants to go back to the days of Sherman Adams and Styles Bridges and narrow provincialism, let "em," said Paul Gil-rain, special counsel to the Massachusetts Ener gy Office, who devised the state's counterattack, "but they'll have to pay." He added, "we didn't fire the first shot." New Hampshire has no intention of backing off, Vincent Iacopino, secretary to that state's Public Utilities Commission, said yesterday. justment surcharges.

Gov. Hugh Gallen, elected in 1978 on a pledge to ban Construction Work in Progress charges as a means to finance Seabrook, was up for re-election last year and looking for a way to soften electricity costs. Under a grandfather clause to the Federal Power Act which established the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, New Hampshire chose to keep hydro home. That decision was upheld by the New Hampshire Supreme Court Dec. 24.

Keeping the hydro power in New Hampshire, the utility commission ruled, would help lower electric rates for its residents because water Is free and oil costs about $35 a barrel. It also meant Massachusetts customers and some in Rhode Island will pay an extra $76 million a year to pay for the oil and plant charges to offset the loss of 291 megawatts from the Connecticut dams, Gilrain said. But New Hampshire also imports about 21 percent of its electricity from Massachusetts. Right now, the cost of electricity In both states Is an average of the cost for oil, hydro and nuclear. In October, though, electric bills will go down or at least stabilize for awhile In the face of higher oil prices when Brayton Point converts to coal.

What Massachusetts wants to do is keep enough of that coal-fired electricity at home to lower its customers' bills by the same amount that losing the hydro increased them. But if New Hampshire loses the coal-fired electricity, it will have to make it up with oil-fired electricity, which will return the $76 million burden to Granite State customers. i The ban Oh hydro exports will not take efffect until next month and Massachusetts may wait for a US Supreme Court decision before going to the federal energy regulators. In the meantime, Gilrain said yesterday, "we will try to work something out with New Hampshire but we will do what we have to do." "This commission exercised Its authority In a reasonable manner. It did not exercise it to retaliate against Massachusetts or any other state," he said.

"I'd say Massachusetts was acting unreasonably." Massachusetts has already gone to the US Supreme Court In an attempt to overturn the New Hampshire decision. The Energy Office's "tit-for-tat" plan can be filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees interstate distribution of electricity, within a week, Gilrainsaid. "We hope we can work something out. It is not in the best interests of the region to have this provincial attitude," he said. Replied New Hampshire's Iacopino, who said he learned of the plan from a reporter yesterday: "I don't know If it's the type of matter that can be compromised." The water power war Is bound up in New Hampshire politics and the conflict over the Sea-brook nuclear power plant as much as it is tied to electrical costs, so a resolution may not be easy, sources in both states say.

The battle began last spring when the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission opened hearings on whether to ban exports from the hydroelectric dams operated on the Connecticut River by the Massachusetts-based New England Electric System. According to some sources, the New Hampshire utility commission was under pressure to find relief for the financially beleaguered Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH), the state's largest utility. The company has lost millions of dollars because of delays in building Its Seabrook nuclear plant. And, because Seabrook is not operating, the utility is spending millions more to Import electricity from Massachusetts to serve southern New Hampshire's growing population. Those costs were already showing up on consumers electric bills in higher rates and fuel ad Barbara Ciampa receives a loan to help pay her daughter's college expenses.

With her is Boston Five president Robert Spiller and her daughter Cynthia. globe photo by da vid ryan Mother in Lexington gets 1st college loan ing the four years. These loans to parents now supplement a program of loans already established that went directly to students. Formerly, an undergraduate could apply for a loan of $2500 a year up to a maximum of $7500. The revised legislation provides for an, undergraduate to qualify for a $2500 loan but the maximum has been Increased to $15,000 over four years.

Ciampa will have to repay the loan at 9 percent Interest and must begin reimbursement in 60 days. The interest rate for undergraduates with no previous HELP loans will be 9 percent and 7 percent for those with previous loans. HELP loans are available to all residents of Massachusetts regardless of where they enroll, provided the schools are approved; to out-of-state residents coming to school in Massachusetts; and to qualified aliens If they attend school in the US The loans are guaranteed by the Mass. Higher Education Assistance which administers the HELP program in this state. -MURIEL COHEN Barbara Ciampa of Lexington went to the Boston Five yesterday morning, where she received a check for $2537.

In accepting the check from bank president Robert Spiller and Dr. Joseph Cronin, president of the Mass. Higher Education Assistance Ciampa became the first parent In the United States to benefit from a new federal loan program to help pay children's college costs, according to the bank. Ciampa, a single parent and director of social services at St. Elizabeth's Hospital In Brighton, will apply the loan to her daughter Cynthia's fees.

Cynthia is a Junior at Simmons College. Ciampa is benefiting from a newly amended Higher Education Loan Plan (HELP) that is allowing more financial aid than ever before for middle and even upper income families with children in college. Under the new HELP plan, which went Into effect Jan. 1, parents of undergraduate students are eligible for loans up to $3000 per student per year, with a maximum of $15,000 dur a- ua est neisi on i rJi ends in swift arrests 1 Brighton, were arraigned yesterday In Brighton District Court. Each was 9 charged with three counts of armed robbery.

Mackin was held on $25,000 surety; the Juvenile on $350 bail. Their cases were continued until Jan. 12. "It was a script out of the Wild West, McDonough said, "complete with two arrests, and strong leads on two others. Clergy to patrol high school Although the robbery had the of a stagecoach holdup.

MBTA Po lice Chief Richard Whelan cautioned that such a situation was extremely mj dangerous tor everyone on board the LINCOLN-SUDBURY Continued from Page 13 Students carrying weapons on bus, Including the theives. "It is like cornering people In an school grounds could be expelled after a hearing before the School elevator, he said In a telephone Inter view yesterday. "If you threaten peo ple in a small space, and perhaps one In addition, visitors to the high of the passengers is armed, a lot of school will be required to sign In at the people can get hurt, he said. Whelan said this was the first main office. "This Is the first time In my seven gang holdup of a bus In MBTA histo years on the committee that the prob lems were such that we were really By David Arnold Globe Staff A "Wild West" style gang robbery of an MBTA bus and its riders led to swift arrests and police yesterday felt their actions may discourage others from trying similar armed robberies.

The stickups occurred in Brighton on New Year's Eve. At 7:30 Wednesday night, after driver William Barbour had discharged passengers at the intersection of Commonwealth avenue and Washington street on the Boston College Line, five males boarded the bus and announced: "All right, this is a stickup. Hand over your money," according to MBTA Detective Edward McDonough. Two men boarded through the front door and robbed the driver of his wallet containing $38. Three others simultaneously entered through the back door and stole $60 and two gold necklaces from two of the estimated 1 2 passengers on the bus.

Some of the passengers bluffed that they had no money. All but one of the robbers wore ski masks. McDonough said that witnesses saw three guns a revolver, possibly an automatic, and a handgun of unknown caliber. The thieves fled less than three minutes after entering the bus. The driver then pulled his bus up to an ambulance 100 feet down the road, got out and asked the ambulance attendant to call the police on his radio.

When the bus driver returned, all but a half-dozen passengers had left, apparently unwilling to get involved as witnesses, McDonough said. Both Boston Police and MBTA officers responded to the ambulance radio call. They arrested two. suspects less than two hours later, acting on tips. Rodney Mackin.

19, and a 16-year-old Juvenile, both of Fidelis way, concerned for the general safety of everybody. Four years ago we had one other racial incident." said School Committee Chairman Alan Grath-wohl, who described the pre-hollday problems at the school as drug-related rather than racial. 1 i'i '41 Vs Ht 3 I'M "Drugs were taken from one group McCIure said. "They have to answer some questions In their own minds about how they see the problem and what commitment they are willing to make to change things," he said. "There Is some ambivalence, I think.

Some people are working very hard at It and some people think, 'It's not my To avoid the temptation to settle for a short-term solution, McCIure has advised school officials to adopt a permanent policy for dealing with racial confrontations. "You have to have a policy to hold people accountable. Even if you get your house In order this week you have to plan and anticipate for the future," he said. "Learning how to get along with other people should be the No. 1 educational policy In our schools.

Learning how to add and subtract and do scientific experiments is important, but the human dimension is even more important." Among the volunteers monitoring student behavior Monday will be clergymen and laymen from the Unitarian Church of Lincoln and the Methodist Church of Sudbury. The-Methodist Church tomorrow night will sponsor two youth group discussions on racism "to try to defuse things before they even get back to school," said Rev. Shephard Johnson, the pastor. "Personally. I find It very disheartening to find racism among our young people.

They are the future, after all. and I thought we had made great strides In this area." he added. or another. The two black teenagers Involved were not even students at the school," he said. Edward McCIure of the Communi THE LINE'S BUSY A homing pigeon inside the coop of Alfred Cappellini in North Weymouth claims a special spot.

globe pmoto by ulrike welsch ry. We hope this Is an isolated event." he said. "We hope that the quick arrests will discourage those with fantasies of pulling off the same kind of holdup." Whelan said. Whelan said that If the robberies persist, he would take the following, actions: Assign the 200 buses now equipped with radios to the problem area. During peak operating hours.

800 buses, are in use. Review emergency signal procedures with drivers in trouble. They should signal by switching on green flashers located on the outside of the buses, front and back. Whelan did not know If the driver used the flashers on New Year's Eve, nor whether anyone could have responded In time to notify police before the robbers disembarked. Deploy undercover police, presently patrollng the trains, on the buses where robberies persist.

He said the drivers would not be armed. Twin N-plant plans scrapped ty Relations Division of the US Justice Department thinks the problem Is larger than any single Incident. "There are racial problems out there, no question." he said yesterday. "Those problems have a potential to go either way. A lot depends on the leadership.

McCIure will be on hand when classes resume Monday "to see how their plan seems to be working, how It can be improved, that kind of thing," MONTAGUE Continued from Page 13 The other 25 percent of ownership Is distributed among New England Power. Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric New Bedford Gas and Light. Eastern Utility Associates. Fltchburg Gas and Electric. Central Maine Power, and Central Vermont Public Service.

These companies, too. are expected to ask for rate hikes to cover costs. Hlckey said power companies he said. A successful security program will 16 nuclear plants across the country have been abandoned In the past two years. Although Hickey says that the controversy over the Montague plant did not slow down efforts to build it.

he acknowledged that opponents had been right when they said the plant was not needed. "They may have been more right than we when they said people were going to conserve." Lovejoy believes the utilities In general are hoping that the Reagan Administration will ease regulations governing nuclear plants In a way that will bring construction costs down. If this happens, he said, he envisions that the industry will seek to replace oil or coal-fired plants that outlive their usefulness with nuclear plants. relieve immediate tensions, but will not solve the underlying problems. Panel calls MBM case closed Wang plans Boston plant across the country were caught by WANG Continued from Page 1 surprise as recession, Inflation and conservation efforts combined to halt what had been a spiraiing demand for more power.

He noted that plans for manufacturing plant at the Cross-town Industrial Park near Boston City Hospital. Honeywell Information Sys tems in Brighton remains the lareest Two stations to close today and oldest computer company in the city. Most of the building Wane will lease is empty except for the street lev MBTA Continued from Page 1 Sundays: Two round-trips between Boston el, which contains several fast food shops and bookstores and theaters ca "that the exposure of the pattern of abuses, as well as the changes that have been made In the contract-awarding process, will deter others from engaging In such actlvltes. The evidence Is clear enough, the facts are set forth fully In this report, the Inferences are left to the reader. The public policy in bringing the MBM affair to an end outweighs the benefits of further proceedings.

In the commission's view." John William Ward, chairman of the commission, said yesterday. "The commission report tells the MBM story as well as It ever can be told. No one is ever going to discover any more about what happened In the case. "Lots of people were lying. There were many actors In the whole entangled story that everyone knows was lying.

We could have referred some of them for perjury, but that Just puts you back in the whole bloody mess again. "The major role of the commission was Informative. We were not playing the role of a judge. Our decision was a prudential judgment, not a Judicial one." MBM Continued from Page 13 The panel said other witnesses Ued before the Legislature's post-audit subcommittee, which held hearings on the charges. In its report, the commission said it believes "certain witnesses failed to testify truthfully" before it.

before the legislative subcommittee and at the two trials. "The commission has decided, however." the report continued, "as a matter of public policy, not to make formal referrals for prosecution on any of these potential perjury cases." It said the false testimony appears to have been committed within the statute of limitations, which says if a person Is to be charged with a crime, the charge must be made within a certain time period. Nevertheless, the commission said, the testimony relates to events that occurred "far beyond" such time limitations, "and the commission believes that the matter should be put to rest rather than rehashed indefinitely." "It Is hoped" the statement said. tering to adult entertainment. and South Acton.

Wang Laboratories was first ap mined to do something here and he gave the word to his people and got it done." Edward Grayson, a Wang vice president and general counsel confirmed the company's commitment for an assembly operation in the Boylston Building but cautioned that no engineering drawings for the site have been submitted. "We are interested in the Chinatown area as an employment center." he added. Barely six weeks ago. the Massachusetts Industrial Finance Agency (MIFA) issued a $1 million bond to finance part of the project. "Successful development of the Boylston Building will greatly uplift efforts to stimulate reputable business growth in Chinatown and the Combat Zone." said Robert E.

Patterson. MIFA executive director. The Boylston Building was built in 1877 and is a historic landmark. Wang Laboratories was founded in Tewksbury 30 years ago. Five round-trips between Boston proached by the development council and Ipswich.

nearly a year ago. according to Robert Locke said the reductions In north Wong, the council's assistant execu In addition to the Bowdoin (Blue Line) and Symphony (Green Line) station closings, the MBTA Is also permanently closing entrances at the following subway stations today: Boylston street entrance to Auditorium (Green Line), Berkeley street entrance to Arlington (Green Line) and North Station West entrance to North Station (Green Line). The MBTA. in an agreement with the Carmen Union, will retain the guards on each Red Line and Orange Line train at least until Jan. 10.

The number of such guards was to have been reduced beginning today in accordance with the Legislature's repeal of a state law requiring one guard for every two rapid transit cars. tive director. "It was Dr. Wane's decision to pro side service will save $459,393 a year by eliminating one locomotive and two train crews and fuel for 276.1 miles a dav: on the south side. vide much-needed employment for the Chinese community." he said yester day.

$617,950 will be saved by eliminating one locomotive: one train crew; ticket sales at Rte. 12a Stoughton. Sharon "From a financial point of view. Wang Laboratories could continue building in the suburbs where It would cost them less than coming to the city, but Dr. Wang was deter and Providence, and closing the stations.

Also. $34,650 will be saved by eliminating 21.000 stops a year..