Tuesday, May 26, 2026
TARR IN THE NEWS | 5.20.26
TARR IN THE NEWS | 5.20.26
'Senate Spikes Electric Rate Probe, But Signals It Could Reemerge'
By Colin Young | State House News Service
EXCERPT BELOW:
"Minority Leader Bruce Tarr offered an amendment (#311) to the Senate budget that would have established a new task force charged with breaking down every cost component on electric bills for residential and commercial customers; identifying the origin, purpose and regulatory basis of each cost component; tallying the total statewide revenue raised by each component, by utility and customer class; and comparing Massachusetts to nearby and competitor states. A report would have been due in September 2027.
"Those costs are applied through a regulatory system that we don't vote on, we don't debate. And yet this is one of the most significant costs in the lives of people in Massachusetts. How much? Well, by a recently published estimate, about $2.9 billion per year, and that is for the climate-related surcharges alone," the Gloucester Republican said.
He added, "Presently, there is no public source that tracks all of these expenses. That's part of the problem, and again, we're not trying to make a judgment on whether they're good or bad. We're just trying to understand that when something has this impact on ratepayers and the people we represent, we need to make sure we understand it."
Tarr's amendment would have also required the DPU, the body that considers and approves electric rate changes, to hold at least one public hearing and a 30-day public comment period before approving any future rate increase.
Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues said Tarr's proposed "task force is not a bad idea" and said the amendment was both "very good" and "very timely." But, Rodrigues argued, the budget is not the right bill for it."
Read the full article ⬇
🔗 https://pro.stateaffairs.com/ma/environment/senate-spikes-electric-rate-probe-but-signals-it-could-reemerge
