Press Release  DPU Reduces Mass Save Plan by $500 Million and Approves Proposals to Reduce Residential Gas Bills

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) issued an order today for the 2025-2027 Three‑Year Energy Efficiency Plan proposed by the state’s electric and gas distribution companies and the Cape Light Compact, who serve as the Program Administrators of Mass Save. The DPU has approved recommended enhancements of Mass Save, the nation-leading energy efficiency program available to residents and businesses operating in the state.  To protect ratepayers from excessive bill impacts, the DPU also ordered a reduction of the total three-year budget by $500 million.  

Even with this budget reduction, the state’s energy efficiency program will continue to provide customers with billions in savings and benefits each year by supporting improvements to homes and businesses like energy efficient heating systems and appliances as well as low-cost weatherization.  Over the past 15 years, Mass Save has helped customers save 18 million megawatt-hours of annual electricity consumption, leading to lower energy bills on average. 

The DPU chose to reduce the overall budget to minimize the direct impact to customers’ energy bills.  As the DPU stated in its order, “[t]he responsibility of weighing the bill impacts of these Three‑Year Plans rests squarely with the Department and we take our responsibility as the stewards of ratepayer funds seriously.” The DPU also required the Program Administrators to work with the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council and the Legislature to find alternative sources of funding for decarbonization measures so that Mass Save programs do not solely rely on funding provided by ratepayers. The state and ratepayers are poised to benefit from hundreds of millions of federal funds that would complement Mass Save’s programs. 

The reduction from the DPU for the Mass Save 2025-2027 Plan would lower total residential program budgets by 25% for gas and 15% for electric. The decrease will vary by utility provider, as the utilities must work together to reduce the total budget of Mass Save. Each utility budgets for their own programs that are then collectively proposed in the total budget for the Three-Year Plan.  

Due to this budget cut, the energy efficiency surcharge will be reduced on future residential customer bills. The energy efficiency surcharge is listed on electric bills but currently is a part of the delivery fee on gas bills. To provide more transparency for all gas customers on the components that make up their bills, the DPU directed each gas company to list the energy efficiency surcharge as a separate line item on bills going forward.

As the Program Administrators of Mass Save, the utilities collaborate with the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council and stakeholders every three years to develop energy efficiency proposals that help to reduce use and demand, resulting in the lower energy bills for customers. The Program Administrators must also craft strategies and investments to ensure that equitable access to all available energy efficiency programs, especially for vulnerable and historically underserved communities. 

The 2025-2027 Plan increases investments in environmental justice populations and low- and moderate-income households, expanding the definition of a moderate-income customer to provide more households with access to no-cost energy efficiency services. The Plan sets equity targets with the designation of specific municipalities as “equity communities” in which renters in these areas can participate in no-cost weatherization, barrier remediation, and electrification. The Plan focuses these investments for 21 designated equity communities: Boston, Brockton, Chelsea, Everett, Fall River, Framingham, Fitchburg, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, New Bedford, Oak Bluffs, Pittsfield, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Springfield, Tisbury, Woburn, and Worcester. The Income-Eligible Program of the Plan is also available to eligible customers to receive no-cost energy efficiency improvements and housing upgrades.  

Through its order, the DPU approves a new statewide electrification pool proposal that would deploy more heat pumps at an accelerated pace. The statewide pool will ensure the savings and benefits reach both gas and electric customers. The statewide pool will minimize costs by reducing rate spikes while extending access to energy-efficient heat pumps to more customers. 

Gas Bill Relief Proposals 

The DPU approved immediate reductions in gas bills for residential customers. The gas companies’ filed proposals to provide customers relief from their bills for March and April. The approval of these proposals is part of the DPU’s ongoing efforts to ensure affordability for both electric and gas customers. This reduction will apply to the gas supply used in March that customers will be billed for in April. 

On February 20, 2025, the DPU directed the gas companies to reduce residential gas bills for March and April to provide relief to their customers for the remaining heating season, which ends on April 30th. Berkshire Gas, Eversource, Liberty Utilities, National Grid, and Unitil submitted proposals ranging from a 7.4 to 16 percent reduction on a total gas bill for the remaining months of the heating season.

National Grid and Berkshire Gas submitted amended proposals to the DPU on Friday, February 28th, waiving the carrying fee that would be charged to customers, which the DPU approved. The approval means that residential and low-income customers for all six gas companies will see the 7.4 to 16 percent reduction in their total bill for March and April, with those costs deferred and spread out through the six-month off-peak season from May to October without carrying fees. Because the DPU ordered a reduction in the Mass Save budget, the gas companies may not need to defer costs for residential customers. The companies would submit filings to the DPU with this information. The deferral helps to avoid additional volatility customers have experienced this winter heating season. Customers will not be charged interest on this deferral.  

Shut-Off Moratorium Extension 

Additionally, the DPU has extended the service shut-off moratorium from March 15th to April 1st to provide added relief to customers. The shut-off moratorium applies to customers of the investor-owned electric, gas, and water companies regulated by the DPU. These utility companies cannot shut off service to homes experiencing financial hardship. This extension of the shut-off moratorium provides additional protection for customers who may have trouble paying their utility bills. 

Any customer experiencing such hardship should contact their utility to learn about the additional assistance programs offered, such as budget billing and extended payment plans that make it more manageable to pay utility bills. The DPU continues to investigate ways to improve these programs to make them more accessible and offer greater assistance for customers.

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