Bianca Sanchez, bianca.sanchez@sierraclub.org
BOSTON – The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has released an order reforming the state’s Gas System Enhancement Plan (GSEP) (see, for example, Eversource Gas of Massachusetts and National Grid). The order aims to save ratepayers money by reducing gas utility spending on unnecessary pipeline replacements, directing the utilities to prioritize the riskiest pipes and implementing important cost control measures.
The DPU’s order cited Sierra Club, one of only two environmental advocacy intervenors, over 100 times, adopting a number of Sierra Club’s recommendations that are designed to save ratepayers money while fighting climate change.
Created in 2014 to incentivize utilities to repair the state’s aging, leaky gas system, GSEP has failed to meaningfully reduce the number of catalogued gas leaks. Instead, for-profit utility companies have passed off billions in pipeline replacement costs to Massachusetts families and businesses, locking increasing amounts of ratepayer money into an obsolete and polluting system, despite increasing awareness of the devastating health impacts, like asthma and childhood cancer, that methane gas causes.
Under the new order, the DPU will require gas utilities, including Eversource and National Grid, to lower spending on GSEP from 3 percent to 2.5 percent, resulting in lower bills for gas customers. Any spending allowed beyond the new 2.5 percent cap will be for equipment that lowers the use of gas, or “non-pipeline alternatives (NPAs),” incentivizing utilities to invest in solutions that align with state climate mandates and avoid additional investment in fossil fuel infrastructure.
Many of these decisions build on the state’s 2024 Climate Bill, which included gas reform as a key demand from Sierra Club members and allies. The new GSEP order was reached through a DPU docket in which Sierra Club was one of two environmental advocacy intervenors.
“The motivation for the GSEP program was about gas safety, a laudable goal that Sierra Club supported at the time. Unfortunately, allowing for-profit gas utilities to create the structure for the program resulted in their ability to put profits over people and wildly increase our energy bills,” said Vick Mohanka, Sierra Club Massachusetts Director. “This is an encouraging signal that the Healey administration and Department of Public Utilities is serious about reducing bills, removing unnecessary spending, and aligning public health and climate goals.”
“This decision is a win for anyone who pays a gas bill in the state of Massachusetts,” said Sarah Krame, Staff Attorney with Sierra Club. “Gas utilities have every incentive to overbuild the gas distribution system through programs like GSEP. The Department’s leadership with this decision will save customers money and maintain system safety both today and in the long run as Massachusetts moves away from fossil fuels.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.