Many of us saw crazy high home-heating bills this winter. Massachusetts energy bills were already among the highest in the country.
Now, as we approach the hottest months of the year, we know many of you are paying close attention to your utility bills. Do you ever look at those bills and wonder what all those charges are?
Anchor and investigative reporter Kerry Kavanaugh is breaking down your bill to explain what you’re paying for and why.
We met a lot of ratepayers who don’t really understand their bills.
“Sometimes I pay $350 and then this Monday came down to $146. No explanation,” said Massachusetts ratepayer, Giuseppe Guarino. “Not everyone can understand that stuff.”
“I probably should, but I don’t,” said Massachusetts ratepayer Janet Holmes.
“I think people really want to know what goes into their bills,” said Kyle Murray, Director of State Program Implementation for the Acadia Center--a non-profit focused on renewable energy.
Murray agreed to sit down with Kavanaugh and go line by line through some energy bills, breaking them down, dissecting each of the charges.
Electric Bill Itemization
The first charge listed on an electric bill is the Customer Charge.
“That is basically the charge of meters,” said Murray. And the cost for utility companies to read those meters, fixed usually at $10 a month.
The Distribution Charge is the cost of carrying power from substations to your home.
“The stuff that’s in state that’s carrying it from substation to your home. Think those smaller poles and wires,” said Murray.
Murray says think of the Transmission Charge as the cost of big towers carrying power across the region.
Not to be confused with the Transition Charge which allows utilities to recover assets stranded after energy restructuring decades ago. Oddly, that can appear as a negative charge.
The Energy Efficiency Charge funds the Mass Save program--funding rebates and incentives to make homes more efficient. Murray says that has benefitted ratepayers whether they use the program or not.
“Because of the fact that Mass Save has been such a successful program, I believe the numbers around, we’ve reduced our energy build out that we would have had to do by about 20%. So that’s a lot of savings that are delivered, even if you’ve never used the program at all,” Murray said.
Next is the Renewable Energy charge.
“So, the renewable energy charge goes to a trust fund that funds the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. And they are focused on clean energy innovations,” said Murray.
Don’t have solar? You still have two charges associated with it.
The Net Meter Recovery Charge --goes to homes with solar power producing more energy than they consume
The Distributed Solar Charge--provides consumers with incentives to install solar on their homes.
“It is efficiency measures for your home,’ Murray said. “It’s not generation side for your homes.”
And the Electric Vehicle Charge funds the state’s electric vehicle program.
The Ratepayer Debate
“I couldn’t believe that I’m getting charged for electric cars and solar panels, which I don’t have neither one of them,” said Massachusetts ratepayer Carmen Lopez.
Lopez echoes a sentiment of some ratepayers and that of the conservative non-profit, the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, which advocates for government and fiscal transparency and accountability.
“I would slash them [charges] all,” said Paul Craney, the executive director of the alliance. “I mean as a consumer if you want to pay for these projects, you certainly can but a lot of people don’t want to play for these projects.
Craney said the markets should decide whoever can produce the best product at the cheapest cost and consumers should choose what they want.
Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance blames high energy bills in part on the state’s push for electric energy.
“It all comes back to a bill, a law that was passed in Massachusetts, the Global Warming Solutions Act,” Craney said. “And so, as ratepayers, people who pay these bills, we are now starting to fund these mandates. We’re just in the beginning phase of how expensive this is going to become on the ratepayers.”
Craney argues natural gas is a more reliable energy source, and often a cheaper one.
Murray, with the Acadia Center, disputes that.
“No, it’s not always the cheapest. And in many cases investing in renewables such as solar or wind or hydro come in significantly cheaper at those moments and that’s why it’s really important to have a mix of fuels rather than just going all in on natural gas which is what we kind of did in the past,” Murray said. “You’re subject to the whims of the market when if production is down, prices can spike. Or if demand goes up, prices spike. So, this ends up with the consumer not necessarily knowing what their bill is going to look like due to things that are largely out of their control and largely out Massachusetts’ control too.”
But Murray says there should be a conversation about what programs fall to the ratepayer in their monthly utility bill.
“We can’t keep putting programs on the backs of rate payers. It’s just not sustainable in the long-term,” Murray said. “I think additionally we can start looking at what goes into the bill and determining should this be volumetric or should this maybe be a fixed charge or should it altogether maybe be removed from the bill, and put into the tax base somewhere.”
Gas Bills: what you see and what you don’t
There’s not a lot of itemized charge breakdown in a gas bill.
Right now, Massachusetts gas bills are just broken down by supply and delivery costs.
The Supply Charge is the market price for the gas. The Delivery Charge is primarily the pipes in the ground.
Many agree more transparency in gas bills is a must.
“The more information that we all have the better,” said Massachusetts ratepayer Ingrid Stobee. “I wish she didn’t have to always check this information but it’s pretty tough right now.”
The Healey Administration has asked the Department of Public Utilities to direct gas companies to start breaking out the renewable energy charge on gas bills. Ratepayers should start seeing that by next fall, the start of the next home heating season.
The Administration told Kavanaugh some solar programs --imbedded in supply costs-- are being phased out, which should save ratepayers money.
Major changes to utilities bill would require the state legislature to act.
Maria Hardiman spokesperson for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs told Boston 25 News:
“We’re taking action to bring down costs and make sure price spikes don’t keep happening to our residents. Governor Healey’s Energy Affordability Agenda delivered $220 million in immediate relief and will lead to nearly $6 billion in savings over five years. We’re getting people help now, keeping costs off bills, and getting ahead of surprise price shocks. She will also soon file an energy affordability and independence bill to explore new ways we can make Massachusetts more affordable. We will use every tool we have to help make sure families and businesses can afford to heat their homes and keep the lights on.”
The Healey Administration did not offer a firm timeline on when the energy-related legislation would be filed.
In March, Governor Healey laid out some actions to immediately reduce costs for ratepayers, including a one-time $50 dollar bill credit.
Healey also announced a $500 million dollar reduction in funding to the Mass Save Program for 2025-2027.
The role of energy companies
Boston 25 News reached out to the major energy providers in our region about what ratepayers are up against the changes that have been proposed.
National Grid says throughout this past winter heating season, they connected with customers through email, bill inserts and social media, as well as through targeted outreach to customers who may need additional financial assistance. National Grid told us its’ web site has extensive resources on understanding both gas and electric bills as well as information on our bill assistance programs. They directed viewers to the following links:
Electric:
About Your Bill | National Grid
Help Paying Your Bill | National Grid
Gas:
Help Paying Your Bill | National Grid
A spokesperson for Eversource told Boston 25 News:
“We are committed to transparency for our customers, their bills and the costs they pay, and are constantly working to provide insight and information on this complex topic. As part of that commitment to transparency, we are currently evaluating ways to improve our bill presentation, particularly for natural gas bills, and expect to implement updates in coming cycles for rate adjustments – including, among other potential improvements, listing the energy efficiency surcharge as a separate line item on natural gas bills going forward as we already do on electric bills.”
Eversource customers can get insight into their gas bills here.
A spokesperson with Unitil, which serves Ashby, Fitchburg, Lunenburg, Townsend, Gardner, and Westminster, told Boston 25 News “understanding what appears on an energy bill isn’t just about knowing the charges, it’s also about finding ways to take control of energy use and costs. At Unitil, we want customers to feel confident reading their bill, and to be aware there are resources, programs, and choices that can help them save.”
Unitil says it is ‘broadly supportive’ of greater transparency in customer bills.
“The DPU recently directed Massachusetts gas companies to present the Energy Efficiency Charge as a separate line item on customer bills prior to the start of the next heating season. If the DPU moves forward with additional changes to gas bill itemization, we will work collaboratively to implement it in a way that is helpful and easy to understand for our customers.”
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