Massachusetts regulatory officials are turning a critical eye toward expensive and opaque delivery charges on electric and gas bills, launching a multipart review on Monday. The Department of Public Utilities (DPU) aims to probe the drivers of bill volatility, assess current charges, and consider limiting how much some costs can rise from month to month. DPU Chair Jeremy McDiarmid described the move as a chance to illuminate how rates are set for the public and to maintain a focus on keeping bills reasonable for customers, signaling a continuation of the year’s momentum toward consumer protection.
The inquiry builds on concerns raised last winter when delivery charges sent gas bills soaring. Massachusetts bills combine supply rates with delivery charges, the latter often involving a fixed customer charge, base distribution rates, infrastructure maintenance costs, and reconciliation mechanisms that recover costs mandated by state and federal policies.
Phase one will scrutinize every element of the delivery portion of both gas and electric bills. Officials say this review will differ from typical annual assessments by exploring designs that reduce bill volatility and by examining potential changes to the net metering recovery charge applied to electric bills. The DPU also plans to look for near-term cost controls while weighing how adjustments to the recovery charge could affect solar energy development in the state.
Phase two will focus on making utility bills more transparent and applying greater consistency across providers. In response to recent billing errors, the review will also evaluate billing practices across the board.
All of these steps are expected to unfold over the coming months, with ongoing monitoring of the situation. Lawmakers in Beacon Hill face tough questions about balancing future investments with current costs for gas customers, who are funding both system rebuilds and subsidies for switching to electric heat through Mass Save.
In February, Mass Save’s budget was cut by $500 million to reduce expenses. Reports indicate that gas company spending on new pipelines has risen steadily, hitting a peak of $901 million this year—an increase of about 300% over the last decade since the state launched the Gas System Enhancement Plan (GSEP), which allows gas companies to recover pipe replacement costs in rates immediately.
The cost to replace a mile of pipe has surged as well. In 2015, the statewide average was about $1.32 million, but National Gridprojects next year’s cost at roughly $4.66 million, more than triple the earlier figure. In response, the DPU tightened the cap on gas company spending and urged a focus on lower-cost leak repairs instead of full pipe replacement. Despite these adjustments, plans to spend more than $800 million in 2026 have been filed, with no clear end date.
Earlier this fall, the DPU limited Eversource’s proposed rate hike for NSTAR gas customers after determining the utility failed to meet requirements from a 2020 order, a finding Eversource disputed.
Additionally, the Vineyard Wind project offshore is expected to come online soon, adding about 800 megawatts of new generation to the New England grid.
