The move, targeting Eversource, National Grid, Unitil, Liberty and Berkshire Gas Company, comes after gas customers reported dramatic increases in their heating bills. Rate increases were approved by the Department of Public Utilities back in November.
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The recent order for Massachusetts' gas utilities to lower prices for residents by at least 5% in the next two months does not go far enough, according to the top two elected officials in the state.
Gov. Maura Healey's office called the measure from the Department of Public Utilities "not good enough" in a statement Friday, and Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell joined her in calling on utilities to shoulder more of the costs themselves.
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The DPU's order to the state's five gas utilities, Eversource, National Grid, Unitil, Liberty and Berkshire Gas Company came as Massachusetts gas customers have been reporting skyrocketing costs on their bills this winter.
Citing a "combination of increased supply costs, the recovery of unusually high programmatic costs through delivery charges, and a cold winter" for unsustainably high prices, the DPU ordered the utilities to make up the cost of the move during the warm season. That means that while customers will see some immediate relief, they will be charged for those deferred costs during the off-peak season when things warm up.
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What Healey's office said about the DPU's gas bill order:
“Governor Healey called on the DPU to take immediate action to provide relief to customers this heating season. This is not good enough. Massachusetts residents are struggling with these high costs – the utilities need to go deeper than 5 percent and deferrals.”
What Campbell said about the DPU's gas bill order:
Campbell wrote a long letter to the chair of the DPU on Friday calling on utilities to bear the 5% costs themselves and urging the department to consider a slate of reforms for the short and long terms. Read the full letter here:
Read the DPU's letter here:
