KHN – The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has ordered a $500 million cut to the 2025-2027 Three-Year Energy Efficiency Plan budget, to preserve the Mass Save program’s benefits for people and businesses.
According to Mass.gov, the DPU’s rule seeks to strike a balance between energy efficiency investments and their impact on ratepayers. The Department is in charge of determining the bill impacts of these Three-Year Plans.
The updated plan promises to provide more savings and benefits, such as upgraded heating systems, appliances, and weatherization services. However, the new budget reduces household gas programs by 25% and electric savings programs by 15%.
Despite the difficulties of immediately changing, the utilities have been entrusted with collectively lowering the entire budget, according to Mass.gov. The modifications will appear as a lower energy efficiency surcharge on future household bills, helping to mitigate the immediate impact on customers’ spending.
While Massachusetts’ total energy efficiency budget is being reduced, the DPU has granted immediate relief for gas bill payers, effective in March and reflected in April’s bills. As part of these approvals, firms have suggested bill cuts ranging from 7.4 to 16% for March and April, offering some relief for the remainder of the heating season.
According to Mass.gov, this approval is significant for its lack of carrying costs, which ensures that consumers who are already stretched tight are not pushed even further.
Furthermore, the Three-Year Plan will enhance investments in historically underprivileged communities, with a particular emphasis on guaranteeing equal access to free energy-efficiency services. To encourage the use of heat pumps and other energy-saving measures, the DPU has approved a new statewide electrification pool that will benefit both gas and electric users.
With these controls in place, the advantages of energy savings are dispersed more equitably throughout the ratepayer spectrum, which is consistent with Mass.gov’s goal of providing more inclusive access.
In addition to budget modifications and bill relief initiatives, the DPU responded to ongoing economic issues by extending the service shutdown moratorium from March 15 to April 1, according to Mass.gov. This two-week extension provides additional relief to people dealing with delinquent utility bills.
Customers in financial difficulty may contact their utility companies to learn about alternative help programs that offer a variety of bill-management solutions, such as budget billing and extended payment plans.