Powering Pawtucket’s renaissance - by Greg Cornett and Gaetan Kashala

 

 

The city of Pawtucket is undergoing a transformation not seen since the height of the American Industrial Revolution. Historic levels of investment in real estate and infrastructure are reshaping the city and positioning it as an increasingly attractive destination for residents, businesses, and visitors. Central to Pawtucket’s ability to deliver on this promise is the availability of reliable, affordable, and future-ready energy. As the city’s economic development organization, The Pawtucket Foundation understands that energy capacity is foundational to successful real estate development, business attraction and retention, industrial operations, and quality of life. In today’s market, power availability is a decisive factor in site selection and project feasibility.

Rhode Island Energy (RIE), the state’s gas and electric utility, plays a critical role in supporting Pawtucket’s growth. With a mission to provide safe, affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy, RIE serves approximately 520,000 electric customers and 280,000 natural gas customers statewide. In 2025, Rhode Island Energy and The Pawtucket Foundation formalized their collaboration through a Memorandum of Understanding focused on improving energy efficiency and sustainability across member facilities and operations. Engagement activities include education, outreach, technical assistance and financial incentives

Nationally, electricity demand is at an inflection point. After decades of modest growth, U.S. power consumption is projected to increase by approximately 5,000 terawatt-hours by 2050. This surge places pressure on utilities to deliver more power, reliably and efficiently, often within constrained infrastructure systems. For developers and site selectors, this reality has elevated energy considerations alongside workforce availability, transportation access, incentives, and cost structures. Energy constraints can limit siting options and delay projects. Lengthy interconnection studies or capacity upgrades can put developments at a competitive disadvantage. Simply put, without available power, a site is no longer viable. At the same time, rising demand presents an opportunity: communities that can demonstrate adequate energy capacity and planning discipline are better positioned to attract major investment.

Rhode Island Energy has long been a key partner in Pawtucket’s redevelopment, particularly along the Blackstone River waterfront. A notable example is the site now home to Centreville Bank Stadium, formerly a manufactured gas plant owned by RIE. The utility remediated the brownfield site, enabling its reuse as part of the city’s broader riverfront vision. The company also completed the multi-million-dollar repair and renovation of the historic Slater Mill dam and waterfall, facilitating the transfer of ownership to the National Park Service. In addition, RIE has helped the City of Pawtucket reduce energy costs through audits of municipal facilities, including City Hall, public libraries, and the Senior Center. These efforts identified efficiency improvements such as LED lighting upgrades, streetlight conversions, building weatherization, HVAC replacements, and centralized control systems, delivering savings without upfront municipal expense.

As we look ahead, Rhode Island Energy is executing a multi-pronged strategy to strengthen grid reliability and resilience, modernize generation, expand renewable energy and battery storage, and support lower-carbon solutions. The company also prioritizes energy justice, working to ensure safe and affordable energy access for historically underserved communities. The Pawtucket Foundation remains committed to working with RIE to ensure that development sites have adequate power capacity, upgrade potential, and clear energy roadmaps. Early engagement with the company provides developers with clarity on capacity, costs, timelines, and constraints thus reducing uncertainty and accelerating project delivery. Reliable energy is essential to Pawtucket’s continued renaissance. Through strong partnership and proactive planning, Rhode Island Energy is helping power the city’s economic growth, placemaking, and long-term competitiveness.

Greg Cornett is president of Rhode Island Energy, Providence, R.I. and Gaetan Kashala is the executive director of the Pawtucket Foundation, Pawtucket, R.I.