(BOSTON 7/6/2026) — On Wednesday, the Massachusetts Senate passed a broad piece of legislation intended to help reduce monthly energy costs for Massachusetts ratepayers. While the bill, S.3143 – An Act to save people money, repair the climate, and grow the economy, is projected to save Bay Staters $14 billion, the Senate’s calculation is made over a 10-year period and would not deliver significant savings to families in the immediate term. For that reason, Second Worcester District Senator Michael Moore joined a bipartisan group of eight senators in voting no.
The legislation passed by the Senate this week finds savings in three broad ways; adjusting investment plans, pursuing investigations, and creating new infrastructure initiatives. The first method pledges savings by canceling or altering investments in infrastructure projects, such as reducing the scope of the Commonwealth’s Gas System Enhancement Plan ($1.46 billion) and restructuring infrastructure debt incurred by utilities ($7.1 billion). The next approach projects theoretical savings borne by investigations into wrongdoing, including investigating markups on electric bills (up to $1 billion), reviewing hidden charges ($750 million), and cracking down on energy suppliers ($650 million). The final plan creates new programs to streamline renewable energy projects, such as cutting red tape on permitting ($1.7 billion) and subsidizing consumer-level solar and battery projects ($540 million). While Senator Moore supports many of these initiatives, the bill as written prioritizes future-facing policy without addressing ratepayers who are struggling with their utility bills today.
“The people of Massachusetts send us to Beacon Hill to address their challenges and make their lives easier. My office continues to receive countless emails and phone calls from constituents struggling with the high cost of energy on a daily basis. Legislation that bills itself as a cost-saving measure but that only yields tangible savings years down the road is legislation that does not meet this moment,” said Senator Moore (D-Millbury). “It is certainly no secret that the Commonwealth is facing a cost-of-living crisis, and that long-term thinking can help tame future rate increases – that is not my objection – but people in Central Massachusetts and across this state are struggling to pay their utility bills today. We must do more to deliver policy that will bring relief to ratepayers in months, not years.”
“Senator Moore is exactly right: families and local businesses across the Commonwealth are facing a severe cost-of-living crisis right now, and they cannot afford to wait a decade for theoretical relief. While we support long-term carbon reduction goals, this legislation fails to protect ratepayers from the immediate, crushing financial burdens of the energy transition,” said Jeannie Hebert, President of the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce. “I applaud Senator Moore for standing up for a common-sense, all-of-the-above energy strategy that balances environmental innovation with real, immediate economic affordability and infrastructure reliability.”
“Achieving true energy affordability for the Commonwealth requires a responsible, 'all-of-the-above' energy strategy. Unfortunately, the Senate’s Bill fails to address the root causes of our skyrocketing energy bills and provide relief to businesses and residents in Central Massachusetts,” said Mike Kane, Director of Economic Development and Public Policy at the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. “We cannot wait years for hypothetical savings; our employers, residents, and the local economy need real affordability solutions today.”
Another dimension to this legislation is that fails to address the cost burden placed on ratepayers by the Commonwealth’s ambitious renewable energy transition. While Massachusetts is a national leader in the race to decarbonize, common-sense policies that could better allow for an all-of-the-above approach to reducing reliance on fossil fuels were not adequately considered during the writing of the bill or were rejected as amendments during debate.
This includes the rejection of an amendment introduced by Senator Moore that would direct a study of a more realistic implementation of the Advanced Clean Truck Act. The Act directs that an increasing percentage of new medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold in the Commonwealth, including vehicles like delivery trucks and 18-wheeler cargo trucks, must be electric. Industry experts report that the technology and charging infrastructure to fulfill these sales requirements are currently impractical, leading to plans for dealers to sharply cut sales of gas-powered trucks to ensure they remain in compliance with the statistical requirements set by the regulations. The scale of this issue led to Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey in 2025 directing her Department of Environmental Protection to ‘exercise enforcement discretion,’ and delaying sales requirement rules for vehicle model years 2025 and 2026.
Senator Moore and other Senators introduced a number of additional amendments meant to bring immediate relief to ratepayers, including regulating data centers, banning fees for the opt-out of smart meters, reforming MassSave, and more. Most amendments were unsuccessful.
The bill was passed on a roll call vote of 32 – 8. Having passed both chambers of the Legislature, the bill will now go through a reconciliation process to resolve differences before a final version is sent to the Governor.
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