Service quality guidelines through 2015
Section 1E of the 1997 Restructuring Act authorized the DPU to require performance-based ratemaking for the electric companies. With performance-based rates, the companies do not directly recover for the cost of providing service. Therefore, they have a greater incentive to reduce their costs of operation, which could reduce service quality. This is because one way to cut costs is to cut services. As a result, the DPU created service quality guidelines to prevent the companies from allowing their service to deteriorate. The mandated service quality guidelines set standards in the areas of:
- customer satisfaction,
- service outages and public safety,
- distribution facility upgrades,
- repairs and maintenance, and
- telephone service and billing.
The DPU’s first 2 service quality orders, D.T.E. 99-84 and the later amended D.T.E. 04-116-C, focused on maintaining pre-restructuring service quality standards. These 2 orders ensured that the quality of customer service did not deteriorate with the implementation of the Restructuring Act and a new model of ratemaking called performance‑based rates. The D.T.E. 99-84 service quality guidelines were in effect from 2001 through 2006. The D.T.E. 04-116-C service quality guidelines, which updated the D.T.E. 99-84 service quality guidelines, were in effect from 2007 through 2015.
G.L. c. 164, §1I authorized the DPU to levy a penalty of up to 2.5% of a company’s transmission and distribution revenues against any gas or electric distribution company that fails to meet service quality standards.
Service quality guidelines 2016-present
The DPU adopted revised guidelines in D.P.U. 12-120-D. These new guidelines started in 2016. Under the D.P.U. 12-120-D guidelines, service standards shifted from preventing performance deterioration to requiring improved service quality. The service quality plans detail how the companies put in place the service quality guidelines.
The electric service quality plans are docketed in D.P.U. 16-08 and can be found here:
- National Grid
- NSTAR Electric Company d/b/a Eversource Energy
- Unitil
- Western Massachusetts Electric Company d/b/a Eversource Energy
The gas service quality plans are docketed in D.P.U. 16-09 and can be found here:
Service quality guidelines - upcoming revisions
The DPU opened an investigation into service quality standards for the local electric and gas companies. The DPU is reviewing the existing metrics. The DPU is considering new metrics related to extreme weather events and resiliency performance. This investigation is docketed as D.P.U. 24-53.
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| Last updated: | September 19, 2025 |
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