Electricity Costs in the Commonwealth

Electricity costs in Massachusetts are among the highest in the nation and have long been a growing burden for consumers and businesses. They are a drag on our ongoing economic recovery and growth, and unless we take action, their rise will compromise that recovery. 

High electric bills are not news to residents in the Commonwealth. The average electric rate in Massachusetts is 14.24 cents per kilowatt hour, the seventh-highest in the nation. Over the past 15 years, however, we have taken a number of steps to improve our electricity sector. We restructured our electricity markets in 1997 and we passed the Green Communities Act in 2008, increasing our commitment to renewable resources such as wind, water and sun to generate electricity. Our fleet of power plants has largely converted to natural gas, enabling us to benefit from recent declines in prices for natural gas while reducing our emissions. Yet, it is imperative we do more to stop the inevitable price increases.

The Senate's next step is to focus on electricity cost drivers in Massachusetts by looking at the operations of competitive markets to keep costs down.  We plan to consider ways to use competitive bidding to restrain electricity costs.

We also need to face the equally important issue of competition for service distribution in the Commonwealth. Currently, our investor-owned utilities serve established territories without any competition for their customers. The Senate will consider ways to encourage the emergence of more competitive options to utilities, so that they must fight more often for customers just like the businesses they serve have to do. 

Despite the challenges, Massachusetts has always had a progressive energy policy. We lead the nation in reducing the pollution that results from making electricity, and the improvements in air quality benefit our health and reduce health care costs. Massachusetts has, in fact, become one of the top three states for innovation, investment, employment and policy in clean energy, strongly positioning the Commonwealth as the front runner in the clean energy economy.

We must continue with this position without harming the many successful businesses, small and large, that consider electricity a cost of doing business. Our next steps are crucial to the Commonwealth's success now and for decades to come.