A message from National Grid:

Yesterday we announced our winter heating season rates for National Grid electric and gas customers in Massachusetts, effective November 1. As proposed, overall monthly electric bills are expected to be 27 percent lower than a year ago, driven by winter electricity supply costs 46 percent lower than the 2022-23 winter heating season.  In total, the monthly bill of a typical residential electric customer using 600 kWh will decrease from $293 during the 2022-23 winter heating season to approximately $213 during the 2023-24 season.  The change in electricity supply costs is partly due to stabilizing global energy markets as well as a recent decision by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities that shifted our procurement schedule, allowing for more stable rate fluctuations throughout the year. National Grid advocated for this change, and we’re hopeful this will reduce price volatility for our customers going forward.

For gas customers, National Grid has pending proposals with the Department of Public Utilities which, if approved, would result in a monthly winter bill for an average Boston Gas residential heating customer using 111 therms per month of $263, an increase of $8, or 3 percent, compared to rates last winter. While a decrease in electric rates from last year is welcome news, we’re conscious that many of our customers still struggle to pay their bills.

With that in mind, we will continue our Customer Energy Savings Initiative to provide ongoing assistance this winter, hosting in-person Customer Energy Assistance events across Massachusetts. Customers can meet directly with National Grid representatives and our energy assistance partners at these community-based events to get the help they need, take action to control their energy costs, and enroll in available financial assistance and related programs that can provide support this winter. 

Through the Customer Energy Savings Initiative, over the past 12 months National Grid has

• Facilitated more than $43 million in HEAP funding to help Massachusetts customers supplement energy bills over the last 12 months,
• Helped more than 25,000 customers sign up for Balanced/Budget Billing, and
• Has more than 255,000 customers enrolled in National Grid's discount rate, with participating income-eligible electric customers receiving a 32% discount. 

For upcoming dates and times, please visit ngrid.com/heretohelp. National Grid will remain dedicated to doing all that we can to control our operational costs to offset future delivery side bill impacts.  We will continue to make decisions and prioritize programs to help our customers in the coming years.