The Key to Lowering Energy Bills in Massachusetts is Investing in Clean Energy and Efficiency
Last month, I testified before the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy in support of the Facilitating DERs Act and the MOSAIC Act, critical bills that would help lower energy costs for all. But this week, legislators attached these two bills to H.3469, a bill misleadingly titled, “An Act relative to energy affordability, clean power, and economic competitiveness”. While the bill has some meaningful solar wins, the bill represents a major step backward for affordability in the state.
In Massachusetts, Mass Save helps residents lower their energy use and their monthly bills by upgrading appliances, improving insulation, and making homes more efficient. Doing so helps utilities avoid costly infrastructure upgrades that would otherwise be passed on to ratepayers through higher bills.
The data backs it up: clean energy sources like solar are already cheaper than fossil fuels, and getting cheaper still. Energy efficiency and clean energy don’t raise bills; they protect families from even higher ones. Still, this bill moves in the opposite direction, undermining the very programs that keep costs low for families. Instead of continuing to invest in proven solutions, legislators are considering cuts that would reverse progress.
In 2024 alone, Mass Save delivered $2.8 billion in total benefits to residents and businesses, yet despite this proof, the bill proposes to freeze the program’s budget at 2022-2024 levels while eliminating greenhouse gas considerations from program design. A budget freeze means fewer home upgrades, longer wait times, and missed savings for thousands of families. By even suggesting this cut, lawmakers are taking the first step toward abandoning the very communities most vulnerable to rising energy costs. Most concerning is the bill denying Mass Save incentives to communities pursuing fossil-free building codes, directly undermining municipalities protecting residents from unpredictable fossil fuel prices.
Previous legislation, like last year’s climate law, which streamlined permitting for large clean energy projects and required battery procurement, proves that decision makers recognize that solar is the key to affordability in the state. But this bill completely contradicts this past action. This bill threatens to leave communities most harmed by rising energy bills behind. But there’s still a chance to fix this; state leaders have the chance to make it right.
The bill was reported out favorably by the House TUE committee and has moved to Ways and Means. We urge them to restructure the bill, keeping all of the positives, like automated permitting, flexible interconnection, portable solar, and virtual power plant planning, but removing this budget freeze. This committee should preserve progress on solar permitting and interconnection while rejecting harmful cuts to energy efficiency. State leaders now have a choice: double down on a fossil-fueled past that keeps bills high, or restore the vision of affordable, community-powered clean energy.
The choices legislators make in the coming weeks will determine whether our energy future delivers real relief to households across the Commonwealth—one where everyone in the state can benefit from solar. That’s the energy future Massachusetts needs, and the one that ratepayers deserve.