Senate Democrats shoot down Republican proposal to investigate Massachusetts’s chronically high electric rates

BY COLIN A. YOUNG

Senate Democrats shot down a Republican proposal to investigate the drivers of Massachusetts’s chronically high electric rates during budget debate Wednesday, but indicated the idea could reemerge whenever the chamber debates a forthcoming energy bill.

For Massachusetts electric customers, bills have increased from roughly $130-$160 per month in 2016-17 to peak at around $250 per month in 2023 or 2025, depending on the utility, according to filings this winter with the Department of Public Utilities. The high cost of electricity works against the state as it seeks to attract businesses to locate here, especially those in energy-intensive industries. 

Minority Leader Bruce Tarr offered an amendment (#311) to the Senate budget that would have established a new task force charged with breaking down every cost component on electric bills for residential and commercial customers; identifying the origin, purpose and regulatory basis of each cost component; tallying the total statewide revenue raised by each component, by utility and customer class; and comparing Massachusetts to nearby and competitor states. A report would have been due in September 2027.

“Those costs are applied through a regulatory system that we don’t vote on, we don’t debate. And yet this is one of the most significant costs in the lives of people in Massachusetts. How much? Well, by a recently published estimate, about $2.9 billion per year, and that is for the climate-related surcharges alone,” the Gloucester Republican said.

He added, “Presently, there is no public source that tracks all of these expenses. That’s part of the problem, and again, we’re not trying to make a judgment on whether they’re good or bad. We’re just trying to understand that when something has this impact on ratepayers and the people we represent, we need to make sure we understand it.”

Tarr’s amendment would have also required the DPU, the body that considers and approves electric rate changes, to hold at least one public hearing and a 30-day public comment period before approving any future rate increase.

Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues said Tarr’s proposed “task force is not a bad idea” and said the amendment was both “very good” and “very timely.” But, Rodrigues argued, the budget is not the right bill for it.

“As all members know, the Senate president has made it very clear that she’s committed to bring an energy affordability bill to the floor in the very near future, and that’s when we should have a debate on this and all other issues as it relates to energy affordability,” the Westport Democrat said.

Rodrigues asked that the vote on Tarr’s amendment be taken by a standing vote, one in which each member’s individual vote is not recorded. When the vote was called, five senators stood in support: Republicans Tarr and Sens. Ryan Fattman, Peter Durant and Kelly Dooner, and Democrat Mark Montigny, who shielded his face with a folder as he stood to support the Republican proposal.