Healey Administration and Regulators Now Studying the Costs of Their Own Mandates

The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance blasted the Department of Public Utilities’ announcement of a new investigation into utility bill charges, calling it a transparent attempt to deflect from the reality that rising energy costs are being driven by the very policies imposed by the Healey administration and enforced by the DPU itself.

For years, state leaders have layered mandate after mandate onto the energy system, restricting supply, subsidizing favored technologies, and shifting billions of dollars in policy costs onto ratepayers. Now, after those policies have predictably driven bills higher, the same regulators are launching a study to “review” the charges their own decisions created.

“If this investigation were to be conducted honestly, the DPU would be opening a probe into problems it designed, approved, and imposed on ratepayers. I somehow doubt they’re going to admit that energy bills are rising because the Healey administration and the DPU have made energy more expensive by policy,” said Paul Diego Craney, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance.

The DPU’s announcement focuses on “bill volatility” and “transparency,” but avoids acknowledging that delivery charges have ballooned to recover the costs of state-directed programs, including renewable energy mandates, net metering subsidies, grid upgrades for intermittent power, and electrification requirements tied to the administration’s Net Zero by 2050 agenda.

Rather than rearranging line items on monthly bills, MassFiscal is calling on the DPU to provide a clear, public accounting of the cost of its climate mandates.

“If the DPU is serious about transparency, it should release a full estimate of what Net Zero by 2050 will cost Massachusetts ratepayers. Families and businesses deserve to know how much these policies will add to their monthly bills and what that price tag looks like over the next 25 years,” said Craney.

Despite repeated assurances from the Healey administration that climate mandates would lower costs, Massachusetts continues to rank among the most expensive states in the country for electricity and natural gas, placing increasing pressure on working families, seniors, and employers.

“Massachusetts does not have an energy affordability crisis because of confusing bills. It has an affordability crisis because the administration in power and the regulators it appointed keep choosing mandates over affordability and politics over basic economics,” closed Craney.