BUSINESS BRIEFS: Solar Boost, Chocolate, Waters $, Boston's Revenue Troubles

SPONSOR OF Business Briefs in the Franklin Observer

The chamber serves the communities of Bellingham, Franklin, Holliston, Hopedale, Hopkinton, Medway, Milford, Mendon, Millis, and Upton. More information is available at https://www.tricountychamberma.org

Solar Net Metering Boost

Last week the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) issued an order revising the state’s Net Metering Program regulation to save ratepayers an estimated $10 million. The new regulations will help spur the deployment of solar facilities across the state, support Massachusetts’s move towards electrification, and cut costs for residents and businesses. Net metering is a system in which eligible energy facilities (primarily solar facilities) can generate net metering credits on their utility bills for excess monthly net power generation that is delivered to the grid, helping customers reduce their electricity costs by generating their own electricity. Credits can also be transferred between the bills of different utility customers. The amount of facilities that can qualify for net metering is capped to limit cost impacts of the program.

Modifications to the Net Metering Program include:

• Municipal or state-owned facilities that generate 60 kilowatts (kW) or less can now qualify under the public cap of the Net Metering Program;
• New ability to transfer net metering credits from certain net metering facilities served by one utility to customers of a different Massachusetts electric distribution company (EDC);
• Exempts facilities that serve on-site load and are larger than 60 kW and less than or equal to 2,000 kW (if private) or 10,000 kW (if public) from the net metering caps (for example commercial rooftop or adjacent parking lot canopy); and
• Changes to the treatment of the Net Metering Recovery Surcharge (NMRS) to reduce costs of the program to ratepayers.

Waters Corp of Milford Reports Results

- Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2023 on Feb. 8. Sales for the fourth quarter of 2023 were $819 million, a decrease of 4.5% as reported, compared to sales of $859 million for the fourth quarter of 2022. Currency translation had minimal impact on sales, while the impact of acquisitions increased sales by more than 3%. On a GAAP basis, diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the fourth quarter of 2023 were $3.65, compared to $3.81 for the fourth quarter of 2022. On a non-GAAP basis, EPS was $3.62, compared to $3.84 for the fourth quarter of 2022. This includes a headwind of approximately 2% due to unfavorable foreign exchange. For fiscal year 2023, the Company's sales were $2,956 million, a decrease of 0.5% as reported, compared to sales of $2,972 million for fiscal year 2022. Currency translation decreased sales by approximately 1%, while the impact of acquisitions increased sales by 2.5%.

Vivilicious Presents Product at Proctor Mansion Event

Bellingham-based Tri-County Chamber of Commerce member, Vivilicious Chocolates, presented its artisanal treats to guests at Wrentham’s Proctor Mansion Valentine-themed “High Tea” on Saturday, Feb. 17. The products are available online and at The Hive in Natick, Bird and Bear Collective in Holliston, and Herbs Make Scents Tea Shop in Mendon.

Blackstone Man Guilty on Tax Evasion, Fraud

A Blackstone man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Worcester to defrauding his former employer– a company that operates a national chain of second-hand retail stores – by using others’ identities and repeatedly falsifying working hours for employees and taking all the wages for himself. He also admitted to evading taxes on the income derived from the fraud scheme.Anthony Prizio, 48, pleaded guilty to six counts of wire fraud, one count of tax evasion and one count of unauthorized use of another’s identity. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing for May 23, 2024. Prizio was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2023. From January 2019 until July 2021, Prizio served as manager of the company’s Worcester store location. In this position, Prizio had access to the store’s timekeeping system for employees’ working hours, human resources portal and un-activated payroll paycards issued to certain employees for wages. Prizio used his position as store manager to repeatedly falsifying working hours for employees, including employees who no longer worked there. He would then take some or all of the wages for his own use on personal expenditures, including his home’s utility expenses, vehicle registration fees and veterinary services.

Commercial RE Could Sink Boston Finances

While home prices continue to soar to record heights, the commercial property market has been lagging, according to a recent report. Recent office building sales have featured price markdowns, and about one in five offices are vacant. That could pose a major threat to Boston’s revenue. Lower demand and prices for office buildings could force the city to reduce its assessment of property values, which then means they would owe less in taxes, the report said. There are two drivers behind the trend. The "biggest culprit," he wrote, is the rise of remote or hybrid work schedules, which have remained popular among many employees nearly four years after the COVID-19 emergency began, reducing demand for office space He also said high interest rates play a role in stressing the city's commercial real estate base by increasing the cost of mortgages and "making it less profitable to own commercial buildings." Boston appears especially vulnerable because commercial property taxes represent a large share of the city's revenue picture. Today, property tax collections make up nearly 75 percent of Boston's total revenue, a significant increase from the 54 percent they represented in 2002, according to the report.