Gov. Maura Healey declared a “state of energy emergency” on Monday as she announced increased home heating assistance for tens of thousands of Massachusetts residents in the midst of rising oil costs this winter.
Healey said an executive order will also remove the SMART program charge from residential electric bills for three months and cut the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard charge by 50% this winter.
“One in five households rely on heating oil to heat their homes,” Healey said at the Edward G. Connolly Center in Everett, adding that heating oil costs have risen 73% since last year. “Many could pay as much as $700 more for a single fill-up for their tank.”
Massachusetts residents pay some of the highest energy prices in the country and Healey is facing pressure to address that during her reelection campaign, as energy has become a theme in her contest against Republican Mike Minogue. Healey again pointed to the war in Iran as a reason energy costs have risen, blaming the Trump administration.
Healey also said she sent a letter to key members of Congress urging them to provide an additional $3 billion in emergency funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. The administration said that funding would bring the program up to $7 billion.
Healey’s executive order will increase eligibility for the Home Energy Assistance Program so that families of four earning up to $103,049 could get assistance of $870 to $1,450 for oil or propane this winter, or $600 to $1,000 for gas or electric heat, per the administration. Under a new heating assistance benefit, families of four making up to $171,749 could get up to $680 off their bill this winter.
Healey did not provide details as to how much her actions will cost the state, but her administration said the plan will lower energy bills for around 85% of ratepayers. Healey’s office said the executive order will allow the administration to cover the costs of expanded heating assistance and removing utility bill charges with money from alternative compliance payments that electricity suppliers make to the state when they do not meet a clean energy quota.
The state is also partnering with Citizens Energy Corporation to create a new Emergency Winter Warmth Fund to help families struggling with winter heating costs. The fund includes a $100,000 contribution from Citizens Energy Corporation to kick it off, Healey said, standing next to the nonprofit’s President Joe Kennedy III, who forecast that “Massachusetts is likely heading into a very difficult winter.”
Former Congressman Joe Kennedy II founded Citizens Energy Corporation in 1979. The nonprofit has provided discount heating oil to families in need across the country, and has expanded to renewables since its inception. The Healey administration said in a release that contributions to the fund “will be distributed through the existing network of local administering agencies, building on the state’s $49 million investment in heating assistance and helping more families receive support this winter.”
Lawmakers have been negotiating energy proposals for months — one of the most complex and contentious conferences of the session. Both branches say their bill will save ratepayers billions in long-term savings. The House passed its energy bill (H.5151) in February, proposing to cut the Mass Save energy efficiency program by $1 billion, and the Senate passed its own bill (S.3166) on July 1, proposing instead to phase out the Gas System Enhancement Program.
Healey said “I want to get it done and get it to my desk” when asked about a sense of “urgency” surrounding energy legislation. She said during a Sunday appearance on WCVB’s “On the Record,” that she’s not waiting for lawmakers and is “looking for new ways to take charges off of bills.”
“I’m looking at ways to provide relief to people right now,” Healey said. “Trump’s got to end this war. Trump’s got to end this war. That’s got to be job one right now.”
Healey last week sent a letter urging the Trump administration to move quickly on the federal reviews and permits required for the expansion of the Algonquin gas pipeline, which she said would lower costs for 600,000 customers. She told reporters Monday that she had not yet heard back.