Massachusetts D.P.U. Approval of Eversource Rate Changes is a Huge Step Backwards for Customers and Clean Energy

BOSTON, Mass. and WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Northeast Clean Energy Council (NECEC) and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) today issued the following statements expressing strong disappointment and serious concern with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities’ (DPU) recent decision to approve rate changes for Eversource Energy. Both organizations believe these changes will present obstacles to customers seeking to make clean energy choices, including the installation of solar, adoption of storage, energy efficiency and potentially electric vehicles.    
 
The new Monthly Minimum Reliability Contribution (MMRC) charge approved in the order will apply to new net metering customers as of Dec. 31, 2018.  It includes a higher customer charge and imposes demand charges on all net metering customers, including residential. This makes Massachusetts the first state commission to approve mandatory demand charges for residential customers.
 
Additionally, and in contrast with states around the country that have offered customers “time-of-use” rates that signal to customers when it costs more to use electricity, the order eliminates optional residential time-of-use rates. It also closes a time-of-use rate available to commercial and industrial customers as of Feb. 1, 2018, which is less than a month’s notice.
 
“This order is a huge step backwards for a state that was one of the early national leaders in grid modernization and solar policy. It will discourage customer adoption of clean energy across the Commonwealth, further slowing clean energy job growth and investment and threatening to undermine the Baker-Polito Administration’s goal to achieve another 1,600 megawatts (MW) of solar,” said Janet Gail Besser, Executive Vice President of the Northeast Clean Energy Council.  “Mandating a demand charge for residential customers at this scale is unprecedented. These changes are particularly concerning because Eversource lacks the “smart” metering needed to inform customers about their peak demand and energy usage.”   

“This approval from the DPU is precedent-setting in all the wrong ways,” said Sean Gallagher, SEIA’s vice president of state affairs. “With a sweep of a pen, DPU has made it harder for customers to be properly informed on how to manage their electricity use. This is a step in the wrong direction for solar in the Commonwealth and will undoubtedly make it tough for Massachusetts to reach its goal of installing another 1,600 MW of solar.”
 
NECEC and SEIA were pleased with the DPU’s decision not to consolidate commercial and industrial (“C&I”) rates at this time, which would have significantly harmed municipal and other solar projects already in operation or development, as well as the decision to address extra charges related to interconnection upgrades in a new proceeding in 2018.
 

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About SEIA®:

Celebrating its 44th anniversary in 2018, the Solar Energy Industries Association® is the national trade association of the U.S. solar energy industry, which now employs more than 260,000 Americans. Through advocacy and education, SEIA® is building a strong solar industry to power America.  SEIA works with its 1,000 member companies to build jobs and diversity, champion the use of cost-competitive solar in America, remove market barriers and educate the public on the benefits of solar energy. Visit SEIA online at www.seia.org.

About NECEC:

NECEC is the premier voice of businesses building a world-class clean energy hub in the Northeast, helping clean energy companies start, scale and succeed with our unique business, innovation and policy leadership. NECEC includes the Northeast Clean Energy Council (a nonprofit business member organization), and NECEC Institute (a nonprofit focused on industry research, innovation, policy development and communications initiatives). NECEC brings together business leaders and key stakeholders to engage in influential policy discussions and business initiatives while building connections that propel the clean energy industry forward. www.necec.org
 

Media Contacts:

Alex Hobson, SEIA Senior Communications Manager, ahobson@seia.org (202) 556-2886
Kate Plourd Johnson, NECEC VP, Communications & PR; kjohnson@necec.org; 617-500-9993