September 29, 2026
Eva Morgan, Organizer, (617) 877-1411
Bianca Sanchez, bianca.sanchez@sierraclub.org
BOSTON -- Today, Mass Power Forward, the largest coalition of grassroots climate and environmental justice groups in Massachusetts, unveiled a new dashboard exposing the influence local utilities have on decisionmakers in the Massachusetts Statehouse. The coalition marked the debut with a press conference outside the Statehouse steps with remarks by community leaders.
VIEW THE NEW MASS POWER FORWARD DASHBOARD HERE.
The dashboard compiles donations from senior utility employees and utility PACs from 2002 to 2026 to Massachusetts Legislators using public information from the Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
A Brown University report found that utility companies are uniquely successful throughout the legislative process and that corporations far outspend climate advocates. This success can be seen in utility profits, which continue to rise as energy bills spike. Last year, Eversource made almost $1 billion, doubling their profits from 2024
As energy affordability comes to the forefront of many legislative conversations, and as scrutiny for the utility business model and return on equity has reached the statehouse, the Mass Power Forward Dashboard will provide legislators and constituents alike with a way to quantify utility influence.
“The time is now to take big corporate money out of Massachusetts politics. We especially cannot let major corporate polluters buy undue political influence,” said Dr. Daniel Faber, from Northeastern University. "Otherwise, the integrity of our democratic institutions, and their willingness to protect the general public, environment, and the climate from harm, will be compromised. Now is the time to reform our political system so that it works for all of us.”
“Our hope is that this dashboard will be a tool to shift the dynamics currently at play in the Statehouse, where wealthy utility lobbyists have a vastly greater influence on legislators than the constituents that elected them,” said Naia Tenerowicz, a member of Springfield Climate Justice Coalition and Mass Power Forward. “It can be hard for legislators to see the patterns in lobbyist donations, as they come in bit by bit, just as it can be hard for regular MA citizens to discover that these interactions are even occurring. This dashboard will solve both problems, making these patterns clear to both constituents and legislators, that utility lobbyists exercise undue influence on the legislative process by making large, targeted donations to legislators with the power to push through legislation that will bring utilities greater profits and maintain their level of control over both our energy systems and our democratic process.”
“For-profit utilities in Massachusetts have been price-gouging ratepayers and fighting to lock in unsustainable fossil fuel infrastructure for decades to come. When major industries want legislation in favor, they are less likely to testify in a hearing than to throw around campaign cash,” said Jonathan Cohn, the policy director for Progressive Massachusetts. “This dashboard offers critical insights about the role utility money is playing in our political ecosystem.”
“It is extremely troubling that at the time where we need comprehensive climate and energy legislation, utilities in Massachusetts are increasing their financial presence at the Statehouse and pushing for preserving their profit margins,” said Vick Mohanka, Chapter Director of Sierra Club Massachusetts. “Developing this dashboard has helped our coalition to better understand the influence that utilities have on the statehouse, and the results are harrowing. Our state legislators must take the side of affordability for Massachusetts residents and families, and not multi-billion dollar utilities and their executives. We urge our legislators to take part in the No Utility Money in Politics challenge and put a stop to the excess influence of utilities on state energy policy.”
About Mass Power Forward
Founded in 2015, Mass Power Forward is the largest coalition of grassroots climate and environmental justice groups in MA with over 200 organizational members. Mass Power Forward and Sierra Club Massachusetts co-lead the People Over Energy Profits campaign which is focused on banning utilities from charging ratepayers for lobbying and other shareholder expenses as well as stopping the expansion of natural gas infrastructure near environmental justice communities across the commonwealth. Learn more at mapowerforward.com.