TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2025
Dear Cambridge and Somerville Constituents —
This morning, I'm on Beacon Hill for the debate on House Rules and Joint Rules for the 194th General Court. In case you missed it, last week, House Leaders announced they would move forward with my top priority for this year's rules debate — making all committee votes public, and posting that information on the legislature's website.
Yesterday, more good news emerged, as House Leaders indicated they will support my second priority — making written committee testimony publicly available online. (Oral testimony is already available via the online video archive). These are just two of the many reforms being proposed in today's rules package. If you care to watch the debate, you may do so here on the legislature's website, starting at 1 pm.
Right now, I want to take a moment to update you on what I consider to be an economic emergency facing many residents in our community and across Massachusetts — the outrageous increases we are seeing on our gas and electric utility bills.
In particular, residents have noticed dramatic increases in their gas delivery charge. Everywhere I go, from the coffee shop to the grocery store to the doctor's office, people are stopping me and asking what the heck is going on? And what is government doing to respond?
It's particularly infuriating that the gas delivery charges are running much higher than the actual gas supply charges. These rates are set by the Department of Public Utilities in a rather esoteric process that occurs twice a year, most recently back in November.
Two weeks ago, I joined with legislative colleagues from around the state in writing to DPU, calling on them to take immediate action to offer economic relief. Meanwhile, Eversource began pointing the figure at the MassSave program, blaming our sustainability efforts for the dramatic increase.
However, that made me curious, so I did a little research and learned that last year, Eversource's profit on their gas delivery business in Massachusetts was up some 29%. Now, they are charging even higher fees on gas delivery than they were for most of last year!
I went on WCVB and NBC10 to sound the alarm on this situation, and to demand that DPU and the corporate utilities take action to provide economic relief. I've also been in direct communication with the Healey-Driscoll Administration, including with the LG herself and top officials at EEA, who help oversee DPU. I also posted about this on my new TikTok and Bluesky accounts.
In response, late last week, DPU ordered Eversource and the other investor-owned corporate utilities to reduce customers' gas bills by 5% in March and April. That sounded like a decent step — but then it became clear the statutory mechanism DPU used to do this allowed the utilities to recover that discount, plus interest, later this year.
Over the weekend, I was quoted in the Globe saying this solution was "not good enough" — because to offer this small discount and allow it to be recouped with interest is basically a slap in the face to Massachusetts residents.
Yesterday, the utilities themselves came out and said they will now offer a 10% discount on March and April bills — but again, they plan to recoup those amounts from individual customers later this year. I have been in conversation with state officials on the need to — at the very least — get these utilities to agree not to charge any interest on this "discount" amount.
UPDATE: Eversource confirmed to me this afternoon that they will impose “no carrying costs” or interest on these deferred payments. However, I find it outrageous that, as of this writing, National Grid is planning to 4.37% interest on the temporary discount amount.
Clearly, we need a broader public policy solution. For so many of my constituents, finding an extra $400 or $700 to pay an outrageously high utility bill is simply not an option. To be sure, if you are struggling to pay your bill, make sure to reach out to Eversource and set up a payment plan.
Finally, I want to suggest what I think is the ultimate way forward. This term, I have once again filed my bill, An Act Facilitating Public Ownership of Public Utilities.
This legislation would bring stakeholders together to map out the path to public ownership of our utilities. Right now, we are trying to juggle three huge factors: sustainability, affordability, and corporate profit. As the climate crisis becomes ever more urgent, and as the underlying prospects for working people in this country continue to deteriorate — I don't think we need corporate investors profiting off our basic utilities and infrastructure.
For my part, I will continue pushing back on corporate greed and standing up for economic justice in our community. The shock of these utility bills won't soon be forgotten, and so I am pushing Beacon Hill leaders to take more systemic action. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns on this or any other matter.
Yours in service,
Rep. Mike Connolly
