Eversource has requested a natural gas bill increase for customers in Massachusetts. It would go into effect on Friday, if it's approved.
Customers would see about 20 to 30% increases, if the state’s Department of Public Utilities approves the the proposal by Thursday.
“What I don’t understand is natural gas prices are down 14% year-over-year, so if anything I’d like to see my constituents actually see a savings,” state Sen. Barry Finegold told NBC10 Boston Tuesday.
NBC Boston reached out to Eversource on Tuesday, who said they were unable to do an interview, but did email this response:
We appreciate that any increase in natural gas rates is challenging for our customers, and especially as we head into the winter season when our customers tend to use more energy to heat their homes. Even if they have never needed assistance before, we want our customers to know that there are programs and services available including our budget billing option that smooths out seasonal spikes by setting a predictable bill amount each month based on our customer’s annual energy use.
Eversource adjusts natural gas rates twice a year—on May 1 and November 1. We have filed our proposed seasonal rate adjustment for this winter and expect the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities to set final rates by November 1, following detailed reviews of these rates through their normal process. Our proposed rate adjustments reflect a variety of factors including the cost of natural gas, our significant investments in safety and reliability projects to strengthen and improve service for our customers, and growth in energy efficiency programs and services available to help customers better manage their energy use and to help the Commonwealth achieve its greenhouse gas reduction goals. The more than 30 percent anticipated gas rate increase applies only to our EGMA customers (former Columbia Gas). For all our other natural gas customers in Massachusetts, we anticipate about a 25 percent rate increase.
We encourage any of our customers who are having trouble paying their energy bill to reach out to our team right away for one-on-one support with accessing our flexible payment plans, energy-saving programs and available financial assistance like the Home Energy Assistance Program and the Good Neighbor Energy Fund.
The DPU will issue an order about the rate adjustment by Thursday, according to the agency, which couldn't comment on the proposal.
