New Report: Massachusetts Residents Lost Over $738 Million Through Competitive Electric Supply Contracts Over the Last Decade

New data out of Massachusetts reinforces a clear pattern: over the last decade, customers paid $738 million more under competitive electric supply, with low-income households hit the hardest. ALL ratepayers were impacted, even those who never opted in.

The report finds that competitive suppliers are consistently charging higher rates, particularly to vulnerable customers, while also driving up the cost of bill assistance programs funded by everyone. In just one year, those added costs reached $9.6 million.

Importantly, this isn’t just about a few bad actors. The findings make clear that the problem is systemic and that meaningful reform will require changes across the entire market, not just targeting the most extreme cases.

The result is a predatory competitive supply system that increases costs across the board. In response, the Attorney General is calling on affected consumers to file complaints through her office.

And Massachusetts isn’t alone. Power for Tomorrow’s own analysis of residential electricity pricing shows that, on average, customers in deregulated states pay significantly more than those in regulated markets. Similar findings have emerged elsewhere, including in Illinois, where recent analysis found more than $2 billion in additional residential costs since 2015 tied to competitive supply.

By contrast, vertically integrated, regulated utility models provide the oversight, accountability, and long-term planning needed to protect customers from exactly these kinds of outcomes.