MassachusettsHouse passes landmark energy bill with deep cuts to Mass Save, sending it to Senate
Jordan Wolman, CommonWealth Beacon February 26, 2026
HOUSE DEMOCRATS HAVE passed a major energy bill that aims to cut rising utility costs that have inflamed an affordability crisis in the state but would also pull back on the clean energy transition.
Lawmakers, who were plunged into months of debate that exposed divisions within the Democratic supermajority, ultimately advanced on Thursday a $1 billion cut to an energy efficiency program known as Mass Save, which is funded by ratepayers through a charge on utility bills. The measure cleared the House by a 128-27 vote in a marathon session that stretched past 10 p.m.
The cut to Mass Save is primarily aimed at its administrative, marketing, and advertising budget, and the bill orders an inspector general report on the program that would be due next year – provisions that generated the most contention among lawmakers on the House floor.
“We're also in a major affordability crisis right now, and this bill is targeting bringing money back to our constituents that are hurting right now,” House budget chief Aaron Michlewitz told reporters before the vote. “And we feel that this is an appropriate place to be putting a pause, maybe taking a little bit step back, and letting the program grow long term, while also allowing some money to go back directly into the pockets of our constituents.”
The legislation comes after Gov. Maura Healey, who has fashioned herself as an “all of the above” supporter on energy, filed her package last May in response to consumer outrage over high utility bills.
Ratepayers are all but guaranteed to see minimal relief this winter, since the House only just passed the measure, with the exception of a plan that Healey unveiled earlier this year to cover or defer some gas and electric costs in February and March. New England’s grid operator just this week reported that January wholesale electricity prices spiked to their highest levels in more than a decade, while natural gas prices increased 43 percent and carbon emissions jumped 24 percent from a year prior.
This article first appeared on CommonWealth Beacon and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Democrats in Maine tend to follow Massachsetts Democrats. Stop the Surcharge on Electric bills to Fund Efficiency Maine Trust
by Dan McKay
16 hours ago
Refund RGGI Money Back to Maine Ratepayers too
Massachusetts House passes landmark energy bill with deep cuts to Mass Save, sending it to Senate
Jordan Wolman, CommonWealth Beacon
February 26, 2026
HOUSE DEMOCRATS HAVE passed a major energy bill that aims to cut rising utility costs that have inflamed an affordability crisis in the state but would also pull back on the clean energy transition.
Lawmakers, who were plunged into months of debate that exposed divisions within the Democratic supermajority, ultimately advanced on Thursday a $1 billion cut to an energy efficiency program known as Mass Save, which is funded by ratepayers through a charge on utility bills. The measure cleared the House by a 128-27 vote in a marathon session that stretched past 10 p.m.
The cut to Mass Save is primarily aimed at its administrative, marketing, and advertising budget, and the bill orders an inspector general report on the program that would be due next year – provisions that generated the most contention among lawmakers on the House floor.
“We're also in a major affordability crisis right now, and this bill is targeting bringing money back to our constituents that are hurting right now,” House budget chief Aaron Michlewitz told reporters before the vote. “And we feel that this is an appropriate place to be putting a pause, maybe taking a little bit step back, and letting the program grow long term, while also allowing some money to go back directly into the pockets of our constituents.”
The legislation comes after Gov. Maura Healey, who has fashioned herself as an “all of the above” supporter on energy, filed her package last May in response to consumer outrage over high utility bills.
Ratepayers are all but guaranteed to see minimal relief this winter, since the House only just passed the measure, with the exception of a plan that Healey unveiled earlier this year to cover or defer some gas and electric costs in February and March. New England’s grid operator just this week reported that January wholesale electricity prices spiked to their highest levels in more than a decade, while natural gas prices increased 43 percent and carbon emissions jumped 24 percent from a year prior.
https://commonwealthbeacon.org/energy/house-passes-landmark-energy-bill-with-deep-cuts-to-mass-save-sending-it-to-senate/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DL%2003-11-2026&utm_source=2&utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Healey%20s%20shift%20toward%20nuclear%20energy%20raises%20affordability%2C%20feasibility%20questions&utm_campaign=DL%2003-11-2026
Chris Lisinski contributed to this report.
This article first appeared on CommonWealth Beacon and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.