A $56 million settlement between Massachusetts and the natural gas utility found responsible for a series of explosions and fires in the state in 2018 has been approved by the state Department of Public Utilities.
The settlement with Columbia Gas of Massachusetts and its parent company, NiSource, was agreed to in July and approved Wednesday.
The explosions in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover in September 2018 killed one person, injured almost two dozen and damaged more than 100 buildings. Federal investigators blamed the explosions on overpressurized gas lines.
The $56 million will be used to provide debt relief to low-income natural gas customers and fund clean energy and energy efficiency programs.
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