Mass. AG Coakley Calls for Energy Summit

BOSTON (AP) — Attorney General Martha Coakley plans to convene a "summit" to find ways to bring down what she calls soaring energy costs in Massachusetts.

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In a speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Coakley said energy costs discourage employers from moving to the state and make it harder for those already here to expand and add jobs.

She said the summit, planned for the spring, would include representatives from the business community and government, along with energy and environmental experts.

Coakley said Massachusetts has the nation's fifth highest energy costs, forcing industries to often pay more than twice that of competitors in other regions.

She said one goal would be to build on the 2008 Green Communities Act, which aimed to increase energy conservation and renewable power use.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.