The following was sent to us by a reader –
“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”
The opening lines from Dickens “A Tale of Two Cities” best describes my time as a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Reading Municipal Light Department.
My time to retire has come. After 38 years of having the privilege granted to me, by the voters of Town of Reading, to serve the ratepayers and all other stakeholders, I have decided not to run for re-election in April 2025.
During my years of service, I have been dedicated to meeting and solving the challenges faced by the Department and its ratepayers. At the same time, I gained valuable experience in all utility affairs. I tried to use this experience, in the best way, to solve the challenges the Department faced over the years to the benefit of all.
I look back with pride on my biggest accomplishment. I was directly involved in the resolution of the RMLD’s differences with the Town of Wilmington in early 1990. I was one of the architects that put together the settlement agreement to resolve the differences. The settlement agreement resulted in the 20-year agreement with the Towns of Wilmington, North Reading, Lynnfield and Reading. The 20-year Agreement put in place the Citizen Advisory Board that includes representatives from the 4 towns, with the intent to provide a voice to all ratepayers to the Board of Commissioners. The 20-year Agreement further set up a process for annual “above the line” payments to the 4 towns in the district in addition to the annual “return on investment” payment to the Town of Reading. The Agreement is to be renewed by all 4 towns every 10 years with a windup period of 10 year, if not renewed. The Agreement has stood the test of time and has been beneficial to all 4 towns and the RMLD. The 20-year Agreement is in place to this every day and will be in place hopefully long after I am gone.
Other major accomplishments during my years on the Board were: the moving of the Department from Haven Street to its present headquarters on Ash Street; the creation of the Energy Service Division; and the acquisition of the Department’s North Reading site.
I presented to Town Meeting the plan and funding of the move to Ash Street. The Department’s power supply, when I got to the Board, was managed by an outside entity before the creation of the Energy Service Division. The creation of the Division, which is now known as the Integrated Resource Division, allows the Department to acquire the most cost-effective power supply, including renewable energy. The North Reading site, which was acquired from the Town of North Reading in a property swap, at the time was viewed as a perfect site for the Department. It has proved to be very valuable with it now being the site of the North Reading substation, a peaking unit, and a battery storage unit.
I cannot leave without a mention of a tough challenge. In 2001, the Department experienced the period known as the “ills”. A Report resulted in the resignation of the then General Manager. I, along with the then Chair, worked together to overcome this challenge and get the Department moving forward.
Over the years, I served at various times as Chair of the Commission, first in 1988 and 35 years later for the last time in 2023. I served with many other Commissioners and five General Managers. I thank all I served with for the dedication, thoughts and views they all brought to the Board.
I leave with these final thoughts.
First, although no one recognized me for it, I was (and still am) an environmentalist and I advocated for renewable energy. As the Department goes forward, I want everyone to keep in mind that it is the “Ratepayers’ Department” and the ratepayers are the most important stakeholder, with emphasis to those in the Towns outside of Reading.
Finally, I thank the voters of the Town of Reading who elected me to the Board of Commissioners thirteen times since 1987. I am grateful for your support and hope I lived up to that support.
Philip B Pacino
5 Washington St Unit D6
Reading, MA 01867
