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Executive Director of Green Energy Consumers Alliance
For those of us working on the clean energy transition, professionally or as volunteers, the last few months have been awful in many ways. We’re seeing policies change for the worse, funding cuts, and layoffs. The planetary consequences are real, but there’s also an enormous human impact on all the people who have made working on the transition either their vocation or avocation.
(Rhode Islanders – this is a story about Massachusetts, but it applies to the Ocean State just as well, given the Act on Climate.)
Mass Save is the Commonwealth’s major energy efficiency program. It’s jointly administered by the investor-owned gas and electric utilities and the Cape Light Compact. Gas and electricity ratepayers pay into the program, which includes information, services, and incentives. On February 28, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) issued an order for Mass Save’s 2025-2027 Three Year Energy Efficiency Plan subject to some modifications and directives, including a $500 million reduction to the proposed $5 billion budget. In the order, the DPU wrote that the cut was made to protect ratepayers from excessive bill impacts. There’s a lot to unpack on the order.
In the last few weeks, there has been much written about rising natural gas rates in Massachusetts and some commentary about whether the state’s energy efficiency program, Mass Save, is at fault. Two factors have caused our total gas bills to spike: gas rates were increased on November 1st and this winterhas had very cold weather that caused increased consumption. As a gas customer myself, that’s been my experience. But anger about Mass Save is misplaced. It’s true that the budget for Mass Save is likely to increase, but the program is a big part of the solution to our energy woes. And in fact, its existence benefits everyone financially – even folks who don’t take advantage of the Mass Save program offerings directly – by decreasing overall costs.
Over the weekend, you may have read or heard that the Trump administration is going to impose new 25% tariffs on imported goods from Canada, Mexico, and China, effective on Tuesday. The depth and scope of how these tariffs will affect our economy and international relations is incredibly wide and deep. It will affect food, cars, lumber, and much more – and that’s before those countries retaliate by raising tariffs on things that we export. But with this blog, Green Energy Consumers will stay in our lane, meaning we will focus on the impacts of these tariffs on New England energy markets.
Back in May, several Massachusetts state agencies came together to form an Interagency Rates Working Group (IRWG) to advance near- and long-term electric rate designs that align with the Commonwealth’s decarbonization goals by prioritizing the reduction of energy burden while incentivizing transportation and building electrification. That statement of purpose is a mouthful but it succeeds at crystalizing the general consensus on Massachusetts energy policy goals among state officials and many advocates, including Green Energy Consumers Alliance — which is, how can we pay for energy in a way that keeps energy affordable for everyone and encourages getting off of fossil fuels?
Almost exactly a year ago, I reported about a direct mail solicitation received from one of those retail electricity suppliers. Let’s call the company “Greenwashing Energy Choice.” Since then, that same company has been sending me similar pitches.
In our work, we pay close attention to the agencies regulating the electric and gas utilities. In Rhode Island, that’s the Public Utilities Commission (PUC); in Massachusetts, that’s the Department of Public Utilities (DPU).
Both commissions have always had a big job – regulating what economists call "natural monopolies." "Natural" because it doesn’t make sense to have more than one company in a community distributing electricity or gas. How many poles and pipes do we really want?However, the role of utility regulators takes on a whole new importance when we realize that we must phase out fossil fuels and electrify buildings and transportation. If utility regulation was ever easy, it’s not anymore.
Pardon this first-person account, but if you are thinking about buying or leasing an electric vehicle (EV) this year, this might be of help. Given what I do for a living, I know a lot of people who drive EVs, all different makes and models, and about 99% love the car they have. Our family has really enjoyed driving a Chevy Volt since 2014 (plug-in hybrid, or PHEV) and a Chevy Bolt (all-electric) since that came out a few years later. (Back when we got that Volt, we wrote a blog series about it – boy has the EV market come a long way in 10 short years!) Both cars are great for the money. We have had a decade of very low maintenance costs.
Recent polling conducted by MassInc on behalf of Rewiring America and Green Energy Consumers Alliance shows strong public support for regulating gas utilities in ways that are compatible with the Commonwealth’s climate laws. The public also supports efforts aimed at switching from fossil fuel heating to electrification.
The Massachusetts State Senate was planning on voting on a major energy and climate bill this week but a Republican Senator hasexercised their right to delay the vote. The Senate will now vote onTuesday, June 25. If you have not already, take five minutes today to let your Senator know you support the bill and certain key amendments.
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