By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — How can the town increase its revenues without raising taxes and fees?
This is an ongoing debate, especially in a town with less than 13 percent of its tax base supported by commercial interests.
At the April 7 Select Board meeting, a unanimous vote by the board solidified a new agreement for Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) for a battery storage facilty being built on property in the Riverpark office park off Concord Street. This agreement will provide the town with a total of $807,487 over the next 20 years, starting with FY26 fiscal year.
The 10 megawatt battery storage facility received its permits from the town this year by approving the plan Monday night, the Select Board ensured that the first payment of $32,000 would be made in this calendar year and can be applied to the FY26 budget.
It is being built in partnership with the Reading Municipal Light Department (RMLD) and will be used during periods of peak demand which will also benefit RMLD ratepayers by decreasing cost of producing electricity. (We’re all familiar with RMLD’s “Shred the Peak” campaign to get customers to reduce their usage during peaks because energy costs more during higher demands and companies set their rates based on peak usage.)
Ordinarily, a faculty like this has a high-value in the first five years then drops off quickly. It has a useful life of 20 years, so by spreading out the payments more evenly over a 20-year period the company won’t have to shell out high fees before it achieves a return on its investment and the town can plan on a steady income stream that peaks at $52,000 per year in the final five years of the PILOT.