Massachusetts’ “Affordability” Bill Undermines Its Own Promise
Legislation Guts Mass Save and Renewable Standards While Claiming to Protect Consumers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 13, 2025
Boston, MA — Last night, H.3469 was favorably reported out by the Massachusetts House Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy Committee. This bill, misleadingly titled “An Act relative to energy affordability, clean power, and economic competitiveness,” includes meaningful solar advances such as automated permitting, flexible interconnection, portable solar, and virtual power plant planning, but these gains are drastically overshadowed by provisions that will drive up energy costs and fossil fuel dependency. Unfortunately, this legislation represents a significant step backward for both affordability and climate progress in the state.
The bill’s dismantling of Mass Save, the state’s nation-leading energy efficiency program, is particularly damaging. In 2024 alone, Mass Save delivered $2.8 billion in total benefits to residents and businesses, yet the legislation freezes its budget at 2022-2024 levels while eliminating greenhouse gas considerations from program design. By imposing weatherization prerequisites that create barriers for renters and low-income households and stripping incentives from affordable housing based solely on ownership structure, lawmakers are abandoning the very communities most vulnerable to energy burden. Most concerning is the bill’s punishment of climate leadership by denying Mass Save incentives to communities pursuing fossil-free building codes, directly undermining municipalities protecting residents from volatile fossil fuel prices.
“This bill claims to address affordability while gutting programs that actually deliver it,” said Lindsay Griffin, Vote Solar’s Northeast Regional Director. “Massachusetts legislators are undermining decades of progress by treating clean energy as the enemy of affordability when it’s the only real solution. The modest solar wins cannot compensate for the comprehensive rollback of efficiency and renewable programs.”
The renewable energy provisions reveal a troubling retreat from climate leadership. Slashing the Renewable Portfolio Standard’s growth from 3% to 1% annually abandons Massachusetts’ clean energy trajectory. Diverting 70% of Alternative Compliance Payments away from renewable development to provide temporary rate relief is a shortsighted trade that sacrifices long-term affordability. The termination of the Alternative Portfolio Standard by 2028 eliminates critical support for technologies essential to grid resilience and cost stability.
“State leaders must fundamentally restructure this legislation. Mass Save funding must be restored and expanded, not frozen. Renewable energy standards must accelerate, not stagnate. Communities leading on climate must be rewarded, not punished,” said Griffin. “Without these changes, H.3469 will lock Massachusetts into higher energy costs and increased fossil fuel reliance for years to come.”
About Vote Solar
Vote Solar is a nonprofit advocacy organization working to advance state-level policies that make solar solutions accessible to all. Since 2002, Vote Solar has worked to build an equitable clean energy future by leveraging deep policy expertise, strategic partnerships, and public engagement. In the face of powerful opposition, Vote Solar champions bold solutions that expand clean energy access, drive investment in frontline communities, and accelerate the transition to 100% clean energy.