Public Hearings Scheduled for National Grid Proposed Rate Hikes

On the heels of one of the coldest and snowiest winters in recent memory in New England, National Grid is asking state regulators for a substantial gas rate increase. If approved by the Department of Public Utilities, the rate increase would take effect next winter and could increase residents' gas bills by approximately 10%.

According to a NewsCenter 5 WCVB report, National Grid estimates the rate increase would total $342 million and raise bills by 8.4% for legacy Boston Gas customers — those in Greater Boston and Central Massachusetts — and 9.4% for legacy Colonial Gas customers, which serves several communities on Cape Cod and in the Merrimack Valley. If approved, the new rates would take effect on Jan. 1, 2027.

WCVB reported that more than half of the money from the rate hike will support new gas pipes that National Grid has installed over the last several years. Spending on this work has increased under a state program called GSEP — Gas System Enhancement Plan — as gas companies are allowed to recover the costs from gas customers, with a guaranteed profit.

Additionally, as part of the proposed rate increase, National Grid is requesting $14 million in charges it had to waive last winter after failing to bill thousands of gas customers for months. At the time, DPU commissioners explained that they "cannot tolerate such a systemic and uncorrected failure." They ordered the company not to collect charges older than 60 days if bills were not issued to a customer promptly.

As WCVB noted, National Grid's rate hike needs approval by the DPU's three commissioners, who are also being pressured to control utility bills. Massachusetts already has some of the highest energy costs in the nation.

The DPU has scheduled a series of public hearings and is accepting public comment by email through April 30 at DPU2650.GridRateCase@mass.gov.

The first public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, March 18, at 7 p.m. at the Lowell Senior Center on Broadway Street. Additional hearings include the following: