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On July 1st, as temperatures reached well into the nineties, the Massachusetts State Senate passed an excellent bill. We say that because it will provide considerable savings for consumers without backsliding on commitments to clean energy.
Policy Wins
Mass Save
To increase accountability, the Senate put forward reforms to the program’s governance but did not cut its budget. In comparison, the House voted to cut $1 billion out of the 2025-2027 budget, which would not only make it harder for residents of the state to cut their bills and emissions through energy efficiency upgrades but would also put thousands of local jobs in the industry at risk.
Gas System Enhancement Program (GSEP)
The GSEP, which has become a boondoggle causing gas rates to rise tremendously, would be phased out. This is an item that the House bill does not include.
Securitization
The Senate would allow the Department of Public Utilities to use securitization, a financing tool that can help make paying for things like grid modernization, storm recovery, and gas transition expenses cheaper for ratepayers. According to the Senate and Governor Healey, securitization could save billions of ratepayer dollars over ten years. The House does not have such a provision.
Utility Profits
The Department of Public Utilities is required to produce a study on whether utilities are earning an appropriate return on equity for the investments they make. That return to their shareholders is paid for by the delivery charge on our electric and gas bills. Many experts and organizations, including Green Energy Consumers, believe that the return on equity should be reduced in order to lower gas and electric rates.
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Common Ground
While the policies above are only in the Senate bill, and therefore risk being removed during conference committee if the House opposes them, some good sections appear in both bills. While nothing is certain until the Governor signs the bill, these policies have a very good chance of becoming law:
Competitive Supplier Regulation
Both chambers’ energy bills would go after the third-party suppliers who have used predatory sales tactics to overcharge residents of the Commonwealth for electricity. While there are minor language differences between the two bills, important sections, like giving cities and towns the ability to ban these suppliers, appear in both. Hopefully, this marks the end of a fight that has gone on for a decade.
Data Centers
Both chambers included sections that would help ensure that any buildout of data centers in the state does not increase electric bills for other customers. While there are differences to work out between the two bills on this, the widespread desire among lawmakers to avoid data center-linked rate increases should help ensure the conference committee works out something good.
Plug-in Solar
Both bills have language allowing Massachusetts to follow other states in legalizing plug-in solar. These systems, which have already taken off in Germany, have recently been legalized in several states and could help people, including renters, who have struggled to reduce their bills with solar up until now.
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What’s next?
Now that the House and Senate have each passed very comprehensive energy bills, a conference committee will be formed to hash out differences between the two versions. The conference committee will have two Democratic members and one Republican member from each body. We do not expect the committee to complete its work quickly. It might take several months.
We all need to continue impressing upon members of both the House and Senate that they should communicate to members of the conference committee about the best provisions of each side’s bill. At Green Energy Consumers, we define “best” as ways to save consumers real money without doing favors for the fossil fuel industry.
Over the next few weeks, we will be laying out the differences between the House and Senate bills. Watch for that and also for tips on how you can most effectively reach out to your state representative and state senator.
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