BOSTON — With the temperature dropping and election rhetoric heating up, Gov. Maura Healey wants utility companies to fast-track refunds that are not legally due to Massachusetts ratepayers until late spring.
In a Tuesday letter to Eversource, National Grid and Unitil executives, Healey demanded that the utilities “immediately” issue refunds to Bay State customers who paid “transmission rates with an excessive return on equity (ROE) for more than a decade.” Roughly $1.5 billion in refunds are owed to New England ratepayers overall. Healey also sent the letter to the head of grid operator ISO-New England.
The governor’s call stems from a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission decision in March, which reduced the profits that New England transmission utilities can earn on their investments and initially said refunds were due within 30 days. That deadline was later extended to May 20, 2027, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied the utilities’ effort to delay, according to the letter that Healey’s office circulated.
“Further delay is unacceptable,” Healey wrote. “Customers should not have to wait any longer for money that FERC has determined must be returned to them. I urge you to end your appeal and begin issuing refunds to Massachusetts ratepayers without further delay.”
Healey, who is up for reelection in three weeks, has a second debate against Republican gubernatorial challenger Mike Minogue on Thursday evening on WCVB-TV. Ahead of their first televised showdown last week, Healey declared a “state of energy emergency” and issued an executive order that featured legal protections against price gouging, one-time heating assistance for middle-income households, expanded heating assistance for low-income households and the temporary elimination of clean energy charges on electric bills.
Meanwhile, highly anticipated energy affordability legislation has been lodged in private conference committee talks for months. House Speaker Ron Mariano has said his branch is not using Election Day as a goalpost for finalizing negotiations on major bills.
Minogue’s blueprint calls for slashing state-mandated energy utility fees on his first day in office, which his campaign said represent one-third of utility bill costs. He also wants to invest in “safe, clean, and reliable energy that lowers monthly costs with natural gas pipelines,” plus assess new modular nuclear energy options.
In her letter, Healey told the utilities she wants information by Oct. 27, including a “clear accounting of the expected refunds attributable to Massachusetts customers,” the schedule for returning those funds, and the process for issuing the refunds.
“As we head into another winter season, our residents are rightly concerned about high energy bills,” Healey wrote. “I write to emphasize the importance of promptly returning the hard-earned money Massachusetts residents are owed.”
Spokespeople for the utilities suggested they do not intend to match the urgency that Healey expressed in her letter.
Eversource is still working through legal issues, said spokesperson William Hinkle. The timeline to deliver refunds is an “incredibly complex, labor-intensive process that involves multiple parties including all of the regional transmission owners and every electric distribution company across multiple different billing systems before the funds could ultimately be returned to customers through their individual bills,” he said.
“Eversource plans to ultimately comply with the directives of FERC — but will not sacrifice the accuracy of customer billing information in the process, which would only cause greater customer angst and frustration,” Hinkle said.
National Grid spokesperson Brendan Moss said the utility is working to calculate the refunds and will start “processing them in 2027, in advance of FERC’s May deadline.”
Unitil plans to respond to Healey’s letter by the Oct. 27 deadline, said spokesperson Amanda Vicinanzo.
“As a Company, Unitil is committed to fulfilling its obligations under FERC’s order and ensuring that any refunds owed are returned to customers in accordance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements,” Vicinanzo said. “We will continue to work cooperatively with regulators and appropriate parties to support this process.”
Eversource CEO Joseph Nolan downplayed Healey’s criticisms of utility companies during an industry conference last month, chalking up her rhetoric to a fast-approaching election, according to CommonWealth Beacon.
“We have good relations with all of them,” Nolan said of the governors of Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire, according to the outlet. “As much as you might hear them maybe take a whack or a knock at us or me or at certain things, I will tell you if I had $1 for every time they say, ‘Hey, nothing personal, Joe. You know you’re our friend.’ But they have to do that.”
Alison Kuznitz is a reporter for State House News Service and State Affairs Pro Massachusetts. Reach her at [email protected].
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