Dozens of Massachusetts lawmakers are calling for probes into “skyrocketing” power prices and whether or not the will increase are “justifiable” whereas scores of Bay State residents say they’re “not pawns in a corporate game.”
Legislators from each side of the aisle have written a joint letter to state Division of Public Utilities Chairman James Van Nostrand, expressing their “deep concerns regarding the steep increases recently approved for investor-owned utility companies” as power charges rise via the roof.
Eversource and Nationwide Grid are bearing the brunt of the complaints.
Lawmakers of their Friday letter highlighted how at the least one in every of their constituents reported seeing their January Eversource invoice climb to $449.91, “nearly $300 of which was attributed solely to supply costs.”
“Additional residents in affordable housing complexes have voiced deep concern over excessive delivery charges and fees,” they wrote, “noting that they live on a fixed income and cannot afford these relentless rate hikes.”
Eversource officers attribute “higher natural gas usage, resulting from the colder temperatures” because the “primary driver” for the will increase confronting prospects.
The state Division of Public Utilities authorized an Eversource request final November to extend prospects’ pure gasoline payments by 20% to 30%. The utility firm usually adjusts the pure gasoline provide fee twice a 12 months, in Could and November, and when “supply costs increase or decrease by more than 5%, officials have said.
Officials adjusted the rate on Feb. 1 as the cost of gas that “Eversource purchases from the market significantly increased in January.”
“The dramatic increase in usage is coupled with recent rate adjustments that took effect on November 1, which are also impacting customers’ current bills,” the corporate has stated.
“These adjustments reflected a variety of factors including the cost of natural gas on the supply side of the bill and — on the delivery side — Eversource’s significant investments in safety and reliability projects to strengthen and improve service for customers, as well as growth in energy efficiency programs and services available to help customers better manage their energy use and advance decarbonization goals.”
State lawmakers who signed the letter to the DPU on Friday are calling for the division to take “immediate action to reassess these rate adjustments and hold Eversource accountable.”
“Time and again, profits are prioritized over the well-being of Massachusetts families, seniors and small businesses,” the letter states. “While energy prices fluctuate, utility companies should not have free rein to impose unpredictable and excessive financial burdens on ratepayers.”
Paul Diego Craney, spokesman for watchdog Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, blamed the state Legislature mandating the Bay State transition to renewable power for the excessive prices.
Mass Fiscal and comparable organizations throughout New England argued in a report late final 12 months that residents and companies can “expect electricity rates to double, along with rolling blackouts” below a plan to cut back carbon emissions by at the least 80% by 2050 and when Massachusetts is required to hit web zero.
“It’s rather infuriating,” Craney advised the Herald on Saturday, “because some of those people who today are complaining about costs for the ratepayers never once expressed any interest or concern for their voting record which mandates the transition to expensive, unreliable renewable energy such as solar, wind and battery.”
Greater than 4,000 residents have signed a petition to “halt and reverse Eversource’s rate and delivery hikes, eliminate extortive public interest charges, demand economic reevaluation, legislative transparency and inquiry.”
The petition, led by Elijah DeSousa who created the Fb group “Citizens Against Eversource,” highlights the “failures” of varied state companies together with the Government Workplace of Vitality & Environmental Affairs, Legal professional Normal’s Workplace in addition to the Federal Vitality Regulatory Fee.
It accuses power and environmental affairs officers of “potential negligence in allowing excessive rate hikes without sufficient consumer protections” and the AG’s Workplace for failing to take motion in investigating “consumer fraud and unfair pricing.”
“The people of Massachusetts are not pawns in a corporate game, nor are we commodities to be exploited by unchecked monopolies and complacent regulators,” the petition states. “We are the backbone of this state—families, workers, business owners, retirees—who rise each day and give our all to build our communities.
“And yet,” it provides, “while we struggle to put food on the table, to keep up with rent, mortgages, healthcare, and basic necessities, Eversource, backed by feeble oversight and silent enablers, dares to take more.”
In a launch on Friday, Eversource inspired prospects to “take advantage of the many assistance programs and payment plans that are available to help manage their bill.”
“We understand how challenging increased energy costs are for our customers who are already facing higher prices for other basic necessities, and we want them to know we’re here to help and can connect them with the programs that fit their needs,” Eversource Senior Vice President and Chief Buyer Officer Penni Conner stated in a press release.
The state Minority Caucus additionally despatched a letter to AG Andrea Campbell on Friday, calling on her workplace to “take action to challenge these rate increases.” It highlighted how then-AG, now-Gov., Maura Healey challenged Eversource’s request to extend its electrical charges by $96 million, in 2017.
“We strongly urge you to investigate whether these increases are justifiable,” the caucus wrote, “and if not, take appropriate action to ensure that our residents are not unfairly burdened by unaffordable energy costs. The current rates are simply too high to heat their homes.”
