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Healey tells DPU to review, lower gas and electric bills
"The bottom line is that gas and electric bills are too high, too volatile for people in the Northeast."
In another effort to lower energy costs, Governor Maura Healey called on the Department of Public Utilities to identify gas and utility charges that can be adjusted, lowered, or removed entirely.
“The bottom line is that gas and electric bills are too high, too volatile for people in the Northeast, and so we’re doing everything we can within our power to cut them down,” Healey said in a press conference Tuesday.
Healey also asked the DPU to ensure infrastructure costs are necessary and efficient and to expedite new solar power construction before the Trump administration’s federal tax credit rollbacks on clean energy take effect on Dec. 31.
“It certainly doesn’t help that we have a federal administration that’s blocking energy sources like wind and solar for no good reason,” Healey said.
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The Trump Administration also halted construction of two wind farms off the coast of Massachusetts and issued tariffs that impact energy supply chains, Healey said.
She added, “So Donald Trump continues to do things that drive up costs for all of us, including when it comes to our energy bills, but as governor, I’m focused on doubling down on what we can do within our power to lower people’s costs and to lower their bills.”
Healey plans to lower energy costs in part by increasing the amount of solar energy in the state, calling it “the fastest and cheapest way to bring more energy online.”
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“Our goal is to bring the equivalent of one power plant online in terms of solar energy in the next year alone,” which is the equivalent of 900 megawatts of energy, she said.
The state’s plan to emphasize solar energy will create jobs and give Massachusetts customers $300 million in savings and benefits each year, she said.
Earlier this month, the state partnered with The University of Massachusetts Lowell to develop an advanced nuclear and fusion energy process to create affordable energy and new jobs in the state, Healey said.
In May, the governor launched an Energy Affordability Agenda, which eliminated $20 million off of energy bills in the spring, implemented discounted rates, and removed outdated charges.
The current agenda initiatives will save energy customers approximately $6 billion over the next five years, and it will save another $13 billion by increasing the energy supply and making purchasing energy easier, Healey said.
“We’re a great state, but things cost too much, and I know our families and our businesses need relief, and that’s what I am looking to provide. That’s why we cut taxes, we cut college tuition, we cut the cost of housing for seniors and ban broker fees for renters,” Healey said.
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She continued, “We’re doing the same thing when it comes to energy. Every single one of the actions that we’re taking and that I’m talking about today is focused on one thing saving you money, and we’re not going to stop until these costs come down.”
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