On Friday, July 31, Governor Healey held a press conference announcing that she had sent a letter to the leadership of the House and Senate about her priorities for energy legislation. The House and Senate have each passed energy bills and have recently formed a conference committee to hash out differences. Their work may take several weeks as there are dozens of issues to resolve. In this context, the governor’s letter could be a significant factor, and we think it’s worth a few minutes of your time.

Below you will see Governor Healey’s letter in its entirety, but first here are our brief comments on the missive.

Utilities are enjoying high profits: The governor’s strongest emphasis was on utility profits, and the spending upon which utilities derive those profits is what the conference committee should focus on. Bravo.

The Trump administration has hurt Massachusetts: She wrote, “The federal government is increasing energy costs across the country with its efforts to stymie clean, affordable resources like offshore wind and its poorly conceived war on Iran.” Spot on.

There are many solutions: The letter lists several ways that the legislature can reduce energy bills. Some of those ideas are in the bill she filed in May 2025. Some are in the House bill passed in November. And some are in the Senate bill passed on July 1.

She did not attack clean energy: The letter does not suggest cutting the Mass Save budget or the Class I Renewable Portfolio Standard, which supports the development of wind and solar projects.

The letter’s not perfect: Green Energy Consumers Alliance does not endorse the governor’s letter in its entirety. But honestly, it’s better than we expected. We were really glad she did not repeat the mantra, “We need all of the above.”

Things She Said but Did Not Write: In her spoken remarks, as reported by the Commonwealth Beacon, the governor said she would support a cap on Mass Save, but that’s not in the letter. A cap is a bad idea. With rising fossil fuel costs, not to mention the climate crisis, spending on energy efficiency should be guided by what’s cost-effective and not be subject to an arbitrary cap. Trump, Putin, and the ayatollah have made Mass Save more beneficial than ever.

The Beacon also quoted Healey as saying she’s “concerned about utility profits” earned through the contentious Gas System Enhancement Program, which allows gas companies to more quickly recover costs from customers for fixing leaky pipes. Spending under GSEP has ballooned since the program started in 2014. The Senate has good language phasing out GSEP, so we hope that the governor’s opinion will influence the House.

And now, the letter from Governor Maura Healey.