“Not surprised”: What to know amidst heating rate hikes before winter

QUINCY, Mass — Residents statewide who use natural gas to heat their homes will have to pay more this season. For companies who work with these systems on the frontlines, they saw it coming.

“I’m not surprised to be completely honest,” said Anthony Mound, owner of Trust 1 Services in Quincy.

The company provides AC and heating services across the south shore.

Mound continued, “The state is incentivizing going all-electric… If you go to whole home electric, you get a $10,000 rebate and you could qualify for 0%, 7-year financing.”

The Department of Public Utilities approved natural gas rate hikes on Thursday, impacting Eversource and National Grid customers statewide.

About 500,000 Eversource customers can expect to see their bills increase by about 25-30 percent, officials said. That means a $250 bill could become $325.

In a statement, an Eversource spokesperson said, “We appreciate that any increase in natural gas rates is challenging for our customers, especially as we head into the winter season when our customers tend to use more energy to heat their homes. Even if they have never needed assistance before, we want our customers to know that there are programs and services available including our budget billing option that smooths out seasonal spikes by setting a predictable bill amount each month based on our customer’s annual energy use.”

The spokesman noted that Eversoure adjusts natural gas rates twice a year on May 1 and November 1.

Nearly one million National Grid customers are also affected by the rate hikes, with bills set to increase by 11-13 percent. That means a $250 bill could become $282.

With winter approaching, Mound told Boston 25 Saturday this is one of the busiest times of the year for them.

“I think people tend to learn the hard way,” said Mound about residents who find problems with their systems this time of year.

He continued, “Check your air filter. Air filters should always be cleaned first… The next step would be to get maintenance done. A lot of failures we see are having to do with not doing maintenance.”

Mound advised Massachusetts residents to keep their heat systems on once they’re powered up.

“Set it to a temperature and leave it,” said Mound. “When you shut it down and turn it back on, it’s going to cost you a lot more money and it’s going to take a lot longer to heat.”

The increases, which were approved by the Department of Public Utilities after an extensive review, are effective immediately.

Eligible households can receive financial assistance through the Home Energy Assistance Program this heating season.

HEAP is a free, statewide resource that assists eligible renters and homeowners by paying a portion of their winter heating bills directly to their heating companies from November 1, 2024, to April 30, 2025.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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