NSTAR was a utility company that provided retail electricity and natural gas to 1.4 million customers in eastern and central Massachusetts, including the Boston urban area.

In 2002, NSTAR Electric and Gas Corporation was cited by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for discharging oil into the Charles River.

The EPA also stated that NSTAR had failed to prepare spill plans at four of its facilities, in Brighton, Cambridge, Needham, and West Roxbury, where oil is pumped through their pipe lines.

[3] Power purchased through NSTAR Green would reduce reliance on fossil fuels that are traditionally used to meet the region’s electricity demand.

Many local activists lobbied for NSTAR to abide by state regulations and spend the $20–40 million required to perform a PCB remediation of the affected lands.