Mayor Wu Opposes East Boston Eversource Substation, Pledges City Permit Fight

BOSTON — July 22, 2026 — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu rallied against a proposed Eversource electrical substation in East Boston on Tuesday, calling the state siting process flawed and pledging city intervention in a remaining Department of Environmental Protection permit review. Speaking at City Yards park alongside newly appointed Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space Reverend Mariama White-Hammond and Green Roots organizer Noemi Rodriguez, Wu argued that Eversource has never produced updated evidence to support a 2013 grid demand assessment used to justify the facility. White-Hammond said the 2013 data is out of step with current climate science and vowed the administration would take "a strong stand" before the DEP board reviewing the project's waterfront siting. Rodriguez, speaking in Spanish and English, said the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board had conducted key proceedings in English only, leaving Spanish-, Arabic-, and Portuguese-speaking residents unable to meaningfully participate: "We felt that we were left outside of this process." Wu framed her appearance — six weeks into her administration — as a deliberate break from past practice, citing a Springfield precedent in which DEP applied the state's newly codified environmental justice law to block a similar facility.