Mayor shakes head on steam utility sale
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino expressed concern yesterday about steam utility Trigen-Boston being taken over by a French energy conglomerate, saying it underscores the need for state regulation to crack down on Trigen steam leaks that have hurt people and snarled traffic.
Veolia Energy North America , part of Veolia Environnement of Paris, said it is paying $788 million for Thermal North America Inc., owner of Trigen and utilities in Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and five other cities that pipe steam to office buildings and hotels for heating and air conditioning. Veolia in 2005 bought a small Cambridge steam utility from NStar.
Menino has been pushing for legislation giving the state Department of Public Utilities oversight of Trigen Boston, which serves 230 office, hospital, and hotel buildings through a 22-mile network of pipes. Leaks from Trigen pipes in the Back Bay and South End three years ago inflicted second-degree burns on a 2-year-old and a Jamaica Plain woman. Other steam leaks have caused traffic jams and sent temperatures to 116 degrees in a Chinatown basement.
"While this move may be good for Wall Street, I am not convinced that it is good for the residents and businesses of Boston that depend on a district steam system that is reliable and adequately maintained," Menino said.
Chip O'Donnell, chief development officer for Veolia Energy North America, headquartered in Boston, said in an interview, "We share the mayor's commitment to safe operations. It's what we should do as responsible business owners. That's our commitment at Veolia Energy for the long run."
O'Donnell said that over the 20 months it has owned the Cambridge steam utility, it has invested $12 million upgrading and replacing pipes. O'Donnell said Veolia is eager to "revitalize the Boston system" as part of a plan to double its business in North America.
Trigen was formerly owned by another French energy conglomerate, Suez Energy North America Inc. , before private equity-backed Thermal bought it in mid-2005.
Peter J. Howe can be reached at howe@globe.com. 
