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Update: Massive MA Legislation Passes Crucial House Vote by Adopting all Amendments and Now Moves to Final Vote in Senate
Bill would Allow Cities/Towns to Ban Residential Retail Electric Choice
House of Representatives – Passed to be engrossed – 128 YEAS to 27 NAYS
H5151 – Entitled “An Act Relative To Energy Affordability, Clean Power And Economic Competitiveness – House of Representatives – Passed to be engrossed – 128 YEAS to 27 NAYS
Massachusetts bill H.5151 was passed by the House to engrossment, which sends the bill to the Senate
Three consolidated amendments were adopted in passage to engrossment Bill Text.
Follow companion Bill H4744.
Town/City Residential Retail Choice Ban – As reported previously this massive bill among other things allowing municipalities to prohibit new contracts with energy suppliers for residential customers. The most recent amendments do not lift the city or town option to ban residential choice.
As previously reported H.5151 would allow any city/town to vote per its governance laws to prohibit residential retail choice prohibiting a broker/supplier from signing a new retail generation contract with a residential customer, or renewing an existing contract, with any individual residential retail customer. Remember that this prohibition does not apply to municipal aggregations. A previous amended bill clarified that any such ban would not apply to the supplier of a municipal aggregation. That is, municipal aggregation suppliers were included within this exemption.
Other provisions of the bill include:
Broker/Supplier Financial Collateral Requirements – The bill introduces stricter regulations for energy marketers and suppliers, including bonding requirements and enhanced consumer protections.
Public, real-time online bill comparison dashboard – The proposed law mandates the creation of a public, real-time online dashboard to display retail residential customer electricity and gas bill components and their associated utility cost recovery mechanisms, along with an analysis of the benefits of clean energy programs.
Data Centers – H.5151 was also amended to include various provisions concerning data centers. “Any new or expanded data center seeking any permit from the department or the energy facilities siting board shall procure sufficient electricity supply to meet their operational needs using not less than 80 per cent renewable energy resources.”
The electric utilities are also required to develop tariffs that “shall be designed to: (i) ensure that non-data center ratepayers are protected from any increased costs that result from increased electricity demand caused by data centers; and (ii) incentivize data centers to develop and utilize methods to increase energy efficiency, including through the use of technologies that capture and utilize the heat produced by the data centers.”
Net Metering – The bill also updates net metering credit calculations, exempts portable solar generation devices from certain regulations, and establishes new processes for flexible interconnection and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) system integration.
Energy Storage Incentives – The bill establishes new programs and regulations for energy storage incentives, offshore wind development, and a statewide smart solar permitting platform to expedite solar installations.
Energy Efficiency – The bill also creates an electric rates task force to analyze electricity costs and mandates a review of the Mass Save program for efficiency and effectiveness, alongside other measures to promote clean energy and consumer protection.
The bill also reorganizes the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) by establishing a “division of clean energy procurement” and a “division of clean energy siting and permitting,” and it introduces a specialized municipal opt-in energy code focused on net-zero building standards.
The bill requires electric and gas companies to provide detailed reports on their operations and customer charges, and it mandates the return of at least 70% of alternative compliance payments to electric ratepayers under certain conditions.
The bill facilitates the installation of high-voltage transmission lines along state highways, establishes prevailing wage requirements for thermal energy network construction, and defines new categories for gas companies to offer geothermal energy services.
The bill also introduces programs for low-income and moderate-income energy discounts, mandates transition plans for gas companies, and allows for third-party investment in utility infrastructure.
