BOSTON and WASHINGTON, DC — Tonight, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed House Bill 5151, An Act Relative to Energy Affordability, Clean Power, and Economic Competitiveness — a comprehensive piece of legislation that addresses the rising cost of utilities in Massachusetts while maintaining the Commonwealth’s leadership on clean energy transformation.

Following is a statement from Ruthie DeWit, Northeast State Affairs Director of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

"The solar and storage industry applauds the Massachusetts House for advancing energy affordability legislation that accelerates deployment across the Commonwealth. Solar and storage are the fastest and most affordable way to add new capacity to the grid and a critical tool for lowering prices for families. This bill removes barriers to development and reduces costs by creating a surplus interconnection service to unlock unused grid capacity and by establishing a statewide solar permitting platform that can cut average residential installation costs by $7,000.

"These commonsense reforms address immediate affordability pressures for ratepayers while positioning the Commonwealth to deliver billions in long-term savings."