The State Organization Index provides an alphabetical listing of government organizations, including commissions, departments, and bureaus.
Top-requested sites to log in to services provided by the state
Since the 1970's, Massachusetts has seen a steady shift to heating with natural gas in a majority of households, from a greater reliance on heating oil in the past, despite the fact that not all Mass. communities have access to natural gas service. Two factors are driving the switch to natural gas: prices for heating oil are traditionally more volatile, especially over the past decade; extraction of shale gas has helped lower natural gas prices over the same period. Some residents also switched for environmental reasons, believing natural gas to be a cleaner fuel, emitting less greenhouse gas. The latest U.S. Census data breaks down Mass. households’ heat by fuel type.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Dec 2016, 2011-2015, American Community Survey 5-year estimates
Still, in the upper New England states, heating oil remains the primary heating fuel. Lack of infrastructure (Maine, Vermont, and parts of New Hampshire) means less access to natural gas supplies. These states are looking into ways to bring in more natural gas to offer their residents a choice of heating fuel.
