Eversource and National Grid Propose Cutting Gas Delivery Rates by 10%

Eversource and National Grid, Massachusetts’ largest energy companies, proposed 10 percent cuts to gas bill delivery rates on Monday, after the Department of Public Utilities ordered gas companies to lower total gas bills by at least 5 percent last week.

The proposal also follows a wave of letters from state legislators and Mass. Governor Maura T. Healey ’92, who urged the DPU to take action as residents saw their bills skyrocket.

Eversource is the primary gas supplier in Cambridge, which lies in its former NStar gas territory.

The company’s proposal is projected to reduce bills for residential customers by 10.3 percent, saving the average customer $33.75 in March, and 10 percent or $19.71 in April. National Grid customers will see gas bills drop by approximately 10 percent in both March and April, realising savings of $40 per month for the average customer.

The deferral means that gas bills will be slightly higher for the off-peak season, which starts in May, so Eversource and National Grid can recoup the deferred amounts, according to the companies.

The DPU is reviewing the gas companies’ filings and will make a decision on the proposals Friday.

State Representative Mike L. Connolly, one of the legislators involved in the push to lower bills, wrote in an emailed statement that the companies should go further to lower rates.

“While I appreciate this gesture, I do not see this as a sufficient response,” Connolly wrote.

National Grid’s proposal to the DPU includes a surcharge of $0.4553 per therm, or a 4.37 percent charge on the customer deposit rate to recover the costs from the deferral. According to the Eversource filing, the company will not charge additional interest and plans to absorb any additional carrying costs on these deferred payments.

In his statement, Connolly wrote that National Grid’s interest charge was “outrageous” in the face of existing financial burdens for consumers due to the higher rates since November.

National Grid spokesperson Robert Kievra wrote in a statement that the company “recognizes that rising energy costs are a challenge for customers, especially during the cold winter months.”

“We are deeply committed to the communities we serve and consider affordability a core component of our mission to provide safe, reliable energy to our customers,” he wrote.

National Grid plans to forgo $750,000 of borrowing costs, utilising a lower rate of 4.37 percent instead of 7.5 percent —the prime rate permitted by the DPU.

With the deferral, according to the filing, Eversource will need to collect $15.4 million between May and October in the former Columbia Gas territory, and $13.5 million in the former NStar gas territory to make up for the lower contributions in March and April to the MassSave program.

National Grid said in a statement that it would also need to recover $60 million during the off-peak season, translating to an average bill increase of about $11 a month. The company reiterated its support for MassSave, but acknowledged that higher contributions to the program were a” significant factor” in increasing customers’ bills.

“We recognize that this will require input from all Mass Save Program Administrators, the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council, and other interested stakeholders,” the company wrote in its filing to the DPU.

Though the proposals have yet to be approved, residents can look forward to some relief for the rest of the winter.

“This filing is a positive step to support our customers with lower bills in the coming months,” Eversource said.

—Staff writer Stephanie Dragoi can be reached at stephanie.dragoi@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Thamini Vijeyasingam can be reached at thamini.vijeyasingam@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @vijeyasingam.