Get Immediate Relief to Customers – Saves $220 Million Now
$50 Credit on Electric Bills
In April, every electric residential customer served by Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil in Massachusetts will receive a $50 credit on their bills. This credit is good fiscal management. The fund established to support clean energy development has grown in recent years. As residents face rising energy bills, the Healey-Driscoll Administration is returning a portion of this money back to ratepayers. That’s more than $125 million in total going to Massachusetts residents. The Healey-Driscoll Administration will continue to identify opportunities to prudently manage existing funds for the benefit of customers. It will also explore ways to flow the benefits of clean energy development and expansion back to customers via future credits and initiatives.
How much do I save? Customers will receive $50 via a bill credit, over $125 million in total.
How do I get these savings? This credit will be on your April electricity bill.
Gas Rate Changes
Governor Healey called on the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) and the state’s gas companies to act immediately to provide relief and avoid future rate shocks. Customers of Eversource, National Grid, Unitil, Liberty, and Berkshire Gas can expect to see an approximate 10% reduction on their overall energy bill in March and April, totaling more than $95 million in savings, which will likely not be deferred to later months. The Healey-Driscoll Administration will actively participate in DPU proceedings to protect consumers and make ratemaking fairer and more transparent.
How much do I save? All residential customers will receive approximately a 10% reduction in their March and April bills.
How do I get these savings? The utilities have been directed to reduce their rates in March and April.
Expand Discount and Money Saving Rates – Saves $2.5 Billion Over 5 Years
Strengthen Discount Rates
Massachusetts has rates that help low-income residents, heat pump customers, and EV owners reduce their electric bills. The DPU will work to expand access to the heat pump and EV rates for all eligible customers throughout the state and consider changes to the heat pump rate that would increase customer benefits to up to $1,000 per heating season. The DPU will also work to provide discount rates for moderate-income customers – the first of its kind in the nation – and tiered discount rates for low-income customers, to provide more assistance to those who need it most. Lastly, the DPU will work to direct the utilities to improve the discount rate enrollment process for eligible customers, including simplifying the process and enabling automatic enrollment.
How much do I save?
- Qualifying low-income gas utility customers can currently save 25% on their gas bills
- Qualifying low-income electric customers can save between 32% and 42% on their electric bills, depending on their electric utility. Starting in September, qualifying low-income customers of National Grid could see savings up to 71% on their bills.
- If you are a heat pump customer of Unitil, you can enroll in a heat pump rate and save up to $500 per year today; National Grid customers will be able to sign up for a similar heat pump rate in September.
- If you are an EV driver and National Grid customer, you can sign up today for an EV Managed Charging program, which could reduce your bill by $100 in the first year of the program. A similar program is currently under consideration by the DPU for Eversource and Unitil customers.
- The DPU is currently working expeditiously on a moderate-income discount rate for customers of all electric utilities.
How do I get these savings? For more information on how to access these discount and money saving rates, please visit mass.gov/energysavings. Eligible customers that enroll in these programs can start saving immediately.
Empower Customers to Control Costs
Energy consumers have options to control energy costs through energy saving programs, including the Home Energy Audit and Weatherization program, the ConnectedSolutions programs, and opportunities to go solar, for both homeowners and renters alike. These programs benefit customers that participate, and those that don’t, by reducing energy usage, thereby lowering infrastructure costs and avoiding unnecessary spending on gas and electricity supplies. The Healey-Driscoll Administration is enhancing these programs by expanding and making access easier, increasing savings opportunities, and providing more hands-on technical support to program participants.
How much do I save? Massachusetts’ nation-leading energy efficiency programs can save customers up to 20% on heating use. ConnectedSolutions customers with smart thermostats can receive a $50 enrollment incentive and a $20 annual incentive. Customers with battery storage systems can receive up to $1,500 per year.
How do I get these savings? You can find out which programs will work for you by visiting mass.gov/energysavings to learn more about each program, eligibility requirements, and how to sign up.
Keep Costs Off Bills – Saves $2.9 Billion Over 5 Years
Minimize Charges on Bills
The Healey-Driscoll Administration is reviewing every charge to determine if there are alternative ways to finance new electric grid infrastructure and reduce the impact on customer bills. Already, the Solar Carve Out I and Solar Carve Out II are on their way out. Governor Healey also established the Office of Energy Transformation to identify alternative ways of financing grid infrastructure to avoid unmanageable run-ups in bills, while ensuring we build an energy system to meet our future needs.
How much do I save? The Healey-Driscoll Administration expects that some ratepayers may see as much as $15-20 of costs eliminated from their bills each month by 2027, or nearly $1.5 billion over the next 5 years.
How do I get these savings? You don’t need to take action. We’re working to get these costs off your bill.
Address Competitive Suppliers
Competitive electric and gas suppliers sell electricity and gas supply to Eversource, National Grid, Unitil, Berkshire Gas, and Liberty Utilities customers. Some of these companies break the law, harass customers, and target seniors and low-income customers with misleading deals. Competitive suppliers alone have cost our residents more than $650 million since 2015. These high prices drive up costs for everyone else – by making it impossible for people to pay their bills and forcing them into debt, leaving other customers to pick up the costs. This industry is directly responsible for some of the high prices our residents have to pay. The DPU has begun to examine potential regulations to protect customers from this predatory industry and Governor Healey will continue to advocate for a solution to the harms brought by this industry.
How much do I save? If you’re on a competitive supplier plan for gas or electricity, the average customer pays about $200 more per year than if they had remained on the utility’s basic service. Reining in this industry would also mean that other customers would no longer be subsidizing these rates, and they would see a slight reduction in their bill, too.
How do I get these savings? Check your electric or gas bill to see if your energy is being supplied by a company other than your utility provider. This information should be found on the first page of your bill. If your electricity is coming from a company other than your utility provider, visit here to compare your rate to basic service or your town’s plan. If your gas bill is coming from a company other than your utility provider, visit here or contact your utility to compare your rate to the utility’s default rate. If you choose to switch energy suppliers, contact your supplier first to avoid cancellation fees that you could be charged by terminating your contract early.
Stabilize Prices – Saves $200 Million Over 5 Years
Reduce Volatility
Governor Healey called on the DPU to provide customers with immediate rate relief this winter and more transparency about their bill, and to better insulate customers from major swings in prices and the cumulative impact of multiple rate hikes. The DPU responded by ordering the gas utilities to provide immediate rate relief.
Additionally, the Healey-Driscoll Administration is focused on doing more to insulate customers from electric and natural gas supply costs. Massachusetts is heavily reliant on natural gas for electricity and home heating. Natural gas is imported into the state from places like Pennsylvania, Trinidad and Tobago, and other parts of the world. And like any major commodity, big world events can drive our bills way up. We can do more to insulate ourselves from these swings and become more energy independent. We will bring on more energy with urgency through fixed-price contracts to keep Massachusetts dollars invested in locally produced energy that isn’t subject to global events. This also keeps our investments close to home, so any jobs or economic activity that’s generated from these costs stay in New England.
How much do I save? Starting in 2026, the NECEC line will provide Massachusetts with approximately 20% of its overall electricity and reduce ratepayer bills by approximately $50 million each year. Increasing supplies of stable clean energy though local solar, as well as wind and hydro from Maine and Canada, are estimated yield net benefits to electric customers of nearly $1.2 billion by 2030.
How do I get these savings? The state is working to pursue these energy sources.
Reform Rates
Customers are experiencing extraordinary "rate shock" this winter, due to a variety of factors, including how rates are currently designed, supply is purchased, and when and how costs to maintain, operate and clean up the energy system hit bills. Governor Healey called on the DPU to investigate and pursue all available opportunities, today, and explore what needs change going forward. The Healey-Driscoll Administration will propose several options to the DPU, and as part of a legislative package, to make bills more transparent and easier to understand, smooth energy costs by entering into longer, more fixed price contracts, reduce the number of costs that are recovered based on how much you use, provide more options for customers to use energy when it's the cheapest, and limit how often rates change and by how much.