“What I would have written for the newspaper this week.”
What is the state doing about our utility bills?
By G. Michael Dobbs
Note: I was the executive editor of Reminder Publishing in Springfield, MA, for more than two decades with tens of thousands of people reading his work, including editorials, on a weekly basis. I continued to write editorials after my retirement until February of 2025 when corporate decisions forced my departure. Like any old newspaper guy, I still have his opinions and decided to vent them here. Please consider subscribing.
It’s always interesting how certain events lead to governmental action.
We are experiencing a pretty severe winter this season and there is a gubernatorial race coming up. So, it’s pretty obvious that with her announcement that she will run again, Maura Healey also announced a program to reduce energy costs for a couple of months this year somewhere between 10 and 25 percent for Massachusetts residents.
Now it you think this is because Healey and her administration strong-armed permanent change from the utilities you would be wrong. The discount is underwritten by tax dollars and it appears we will have to eventually pay interest on it.
I’m willing to say the various utility companies won’t feel much pain out of the deal.
This is what her office announced on Jan. 28: “Today all utilities have agreed to waive all carrying (or interest) charges on their winter bill relief proposals, following calls from Governor Maura Healey. National Grid, Eversource, Berkshire Gas and Unitil have all agreed to waive all interest charges.
“Bills are too high and customers can’t wait for relief. That’s why I acted to get $180 million off winter electric bills and called on the utilities to help provide immediate relief — including waiving interest charges,” said Governor Healey. “After seeing what they proposed, I again called on the utilities today to waive interest charges and they have agreed. Customers need relief and we’re going to continue to push for it. That includes our energy affordability legislation which creates more accountability for utilities, gets charges off bills, and drives down costs.
“Governor Healey called on the utilities to lower energy costs this winter. Her administration is covering the cost of $180 million in electricity bills for February and March. She also called on the utilities to deliver relief, resulting in an overall 25 percent reduction in electricity bills and 10 percent reduction in gas bills in February and March. For the costs that utilities plan to defer over several months, utilities will not collect any interest. Liberty Gas will not defer any costs.”
Really? So, If I’m reading this release correctly, the reduction is essentially a sort of loan that we consumers will have to pay back.
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WCVB in Boston reported the following on Jan.29, “The gas and electric companies will be permitted to collect the 10% bill reduction back starting in April, when heating costs typically drop. An additional 15% reduction on electric bills will be paid for with $180 million in existing state funds and will not need to be paid back.
“National Grid and Eversource, the state’s largest gas and electric companies, said Wednesday they would forego all interest on the bill reductions. Initially, the companies had said they would forgive two months’ of interest but had planned to collect the remaining deferred charges with interest up to the prime rate of 6.75%.
‘“Eversource will voluntarily forego all carrying or interest costs related to all upcoming bill reductions,’” an Eversource spokesman said in a statement. ‘“With the extreme cold temperatures expected to persist creating the potential for even higher usage, this is the appropriate step to take in support of customers.”’
All of this is political whitewash, plain and simple. This means next to nothing in the long run.
Several sources, such as Poweroutage.com, list that Massachusetts is the third most expensive state energy-wise in the Union. Massachusetts is facing multiple economic development issues such as retaining population, housing costs, overall cost of living. People and businesses are either leaving the state or not considering coming here.
A lynchpin to many of our problems is the cost of energy. If we can get some relief there, that would undoubtedly help other issues.
So where do we start? Healey needs to name new people to the commission governing the Department of Public Utilities. What does the department do? “The Department of Public Utilities (DPU) oversees investor-owned electric power, natural gas, and water companies in Massachusetts. In addition, the DPU regulates the safety of bus companies, moving companies, and transportation network companies. We also oversee the safety of natural gas pipelines.”
The Commonwealth needs commissioners who are committed to reform not to the status quo.
The second thing we need is a Legislature with some backbone to do the right thing instead of accepting donations from utility companies. I’m not saying the money they are receiving is illegal. But I am saying the men and women of The General Court should be addressing this issue and they are not.
In the meantime, too many of are staring at our utility bills and wondering how to pay it. Yes, getting into budget plans that stretch our bills over the course of a year is one course of action. Restricting our use of energy is another. Dressing inside like we would outside is something many are forced to do.
Don’t you think our lives should be led more comfortably than that? If the incumbent legislators and governor truly want our votes they need to address this pivotal issue now in truly meaningful ways.
To keep up on this issue, I strongly suggest joining the Facebook group, Citizens Against Eversource+ (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1557119015001224/).
Copyright 2026 by Gordon Michael Dobbs
