MA Utility Discount Enrollment Gets Green Light

As many as 225,000 low-income Massachusetts families may become automatically eligible for discounts of 20 percent and more on gas and electric service next month under a new order issued December 6 by state regulators.

After more than a year of wrangling with utility companies, the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy (DTE) ordered all state electric and gas companies to share their customer lists within 30 days of the order date with the Executive Office of Health and Human Services which will identify eligible utility customers and then direct the utilities to automatically enroll them unless the customers choose to opt out. Eligible customers include those who receive state welfare payments such as transitional assistance, Medicaid, and supplemental security income.

The utility discount program began through negotiations with individual utilities in the early 1980’s and was made mandatory through the state’s utility restructuring legislation in 1997.

The DTE had issued an order in August 2003 for the automatic enrollment process to begin, but various issues had to be resolved in the interim, including how utilities could recoup costs of the expanded discounts.

During FY 2003, utility discounts were received by over 86,000 low-income natural gas customers and over 163,000 low-income electric customers, with savings totaling about $46.5 million. However, DTE and advocacy groups have estimated that only about 40 percent of those eligible for the discounts are receiving them.

Source: Boston Globe and National Consumer Law Center

Page Last Updated: December 7, 2005