Overview
The Department of Public Utilities (DPU):
- licenses electric and gas competitive supply companies, electricity brokers, and gas retail agents (we refer to them as competitive supply companies);
- ensures that competitive supply companies comply with the Commonwealth’s consumer protection laws (G.L. c. 164, §§ 1A-1F, 102C), DPU regulations (220 CMR 11.00; 220 CMR 14.00), and DPU rules established pursuant to DPU Orders (D.P.U. 14-140; D.P.U. 16-156; D.P.U. 19-07); and
- investigates consumer complaints made against a competitive supply company.
The DPU can investigate a suspected violation through (1) an informal review or (2) a formal investigation.
Competitive supply companies that are noncompliant with consumer protection laws and the DPU’s rules and regulations may be subject to a revocation or suspension of their license, a remedial plan, monetary payments, or a combination of all three.
Informal reviews
The DPU's Delegated Commissioner (currently Elizabeth Anderson) opens informal reviews. An informal review can result in a settlement, also known as an Informal Remedial Plan, between the Delegated Commissioner and the competitive supply company. Informal Remedial Plans are public documents and can be found through the links in the table below.
| Company's settlement | Date settlement finalized | Alleged behavior | Monetary refund to customers or donation to a non-profit | Other stipulations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Energy Services, LLC | 12/19/2025 | Failure to comply with telemarketing script requirement for 407 customers enrolled between July 2024 and June 2025 | Donation of $101,750 to Boston Medical Center’s Clean Power Prescription program | No outbound telemarketing for 1 year |
| Dynegy Energy Services (East), LLC | 5/16/2025 | Failure to comply with municipal aggregation opt-out requirement for customers in the Quincy, Andover, Belchertown, Boxford, and Malden municipal aggregation programs | $100 credit to 58 customers enrolled and supplied by Dynegy, and $25 credit to 2,802 customers enrolled by but not supplied by Dynegy | None |
| Titan Gas, dba CleanSky Energy | 9/22/2023 | Failure to comply with door-to-door notice requirement | Donation of $5,250 to Reach | None |
| Harborside Energy of Massachusetts, LLC | 4/21/2023 | Failure to comply with door-to-door notice requirement | Donation of $15,150 to the Mental Health Association (Franklin and Hampden Counties) | None |
| Residents Energy, LLC | 8/25/2022 | Failure to comply with municipal door-to-door permitting requirement | $33,000 charitable donation | None |
| Atlantic Energy MA, LLC | 8/8/2022 | Failure to comply with door-to-door notification requirement between August 2020 and April 2022 | Donation of $24,750 to Saheli, Inc. | None |
| Eligo Energy MA, LLC | 8/4/2022 | Actions regarding the marketing and sale of electricity | None | Returned all residential customers to basic service and exited the residential market for 2 years |
| CleanChoice Energy, Inc. | 1/15/2021 | Incorrect information in direct mail marketing | Refund for each customer enrolled by the direct mail marketing material | One year price increase and renewal restrictions for its customers |
| SFE Energy Massachusetts, Inc. | 12/17/2020 | Deceptive telemarketing conduct | Refund fixed monthly fees to affected customers, and waive fixed monthly fees for affected customers going forward | Required changes to telemarketing processes and procedures |
| Spark Energy, LLC | 3/19/2019 | 2 individuals marketing on behalf of Spark Energy breaking and entering a residence | None | Increased training and oversight of door-to-door marketing agents and vendors |
| Sunwave Gas & Power Massachusetts, Inc. | 3/5/2019 | Noncompliance with 2018 renewable portfolio standard obligation | None | Temporarily prohibited from enrolling customers and required to make compliance payments |
Formal investigations
The DPU dockets formal investigations, also known as Notices of Probable Violations, which are opened by Commissioner Anderson. Formal investigations are adjudicatory proceedings that may include intervenors, discovery, and hearings and can be resolved via settlement or a final order issued by the Presiding Commissioners. Jeremy McDiarmid and Staci Rubin are currently the Presiding Commissioners. Links to the formal investigations for competitive suppliers are listed in the table below.
| Company name | Case number | Date investigation opened | Alleged behavior | Outcome | Relevant documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CleanChoice Energy, LLC | D.P.U. 25-138 | 9/15/2025 | Problematic marketing practices | Pending | Document opening case against CleanChoice |
| Palmco Power MA, LLC d/b/a Indra Energy | D.P.U. 20-48 | 5/4/2020 | Problematic telemarketing practices | Temporarily prohibited from telemarketing to residential customers, refund to 23 customers, and a settlement payment of $460,000 | Document opening case against Indra Energy |
| Mega Energy of New England, LLC | D.P.U. 20-47 | 4/23/2020 | Problematic telemarketing practices | Exited the residential market for 3 years and a settlement payment of $100,000 | Document opening case against Mega Energy |
| Union Atlantic Electricity, LLC | D.P.U. 19-18 | 2/4/2019 | Noncompliance with 2017 renewable portfolio standard obligation | Withdrew license | Document opening case against Union Atlantic Energy Letter of Union Atlantic Electricity withdrawing its supplier license Stamp-granted letter on behalf of the Delegated Commissioners closing the case |
| Date published: | January 5, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Last updated: | January 14, 2026 |