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AG’s Releases Retail Energy Shopping Report Indicating Customers Saved $30 Million In Most Recent 12 Months But Says Savings “Dwarfed” By “Significant” Losses In Past 7 Years
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell released a 2024 report that shows on aggregate retail electricity costs versus basic service savings of over $30 million for retail energy shoppers during the latest period (July 2022 – June 2023), but which the AG’s office said is “dwarfed” by losses experienced by shopping customers in seven of the past eight years.
Excerpts from the AG 2024 Report:
“[I]n the last eight years, individual residential customers who switched to and received their electric supply from competitive suppliers paid over $577 million more on their electric bills than they would have paid if they stayed with their utility company’s basic service.”
“As detailed in the new report, customers accrued significant net losses in seven of eight years studied, with $51.8 million in net losses for the two most recent years, July 2021-June 2023.”
“This report once again shows a clear pattern by the individual competitive electric supply industry of substantially harming our residents, with customers experiencing net losses of $51.8 million for the two years studied and predominantly in communities of color and low-income communities,” said Campbell. “The harms caused by these companies significantly outweigh any benefits to consumers, and I will continue to push and advocate to the Legislature for the elimination of this predatory and broken industry.”
“During the most recent study period, July 2022-June 2023, utility basic service rates in some areas of Massachusetts were more than double the highest-ever basic service rate due to unprecedented volatility in the energy markets. This should have presented the perfect opportunity for the competitive electric supply market to deliver on its longstanding promises to provide individual residential customers with significant savings. Instead, customers who signed up with an electric supplier realized only $30.4 million in net savings for the year, a number that is dwarfed by the significant net losses experienced in every other year studied.”
“Moreover, during this anomalous year of small savings, low-income competitive electric supply customers continued to experience net losses, and during the previous year, July 2021–June 2022, individual residential electric supply customers experienced net losses of $82.2 million.”
“Indeed, despite the market conditions, low-income customers of individual suppliers continued to experience net losses, on average, during the twelve-month period from July 2022–June 2023. During the same timeframe, non-low-income customers experienced net savings, on average, but those net savings were small compared to the historical pattern of high net losses in each of the other seven years the AGO has studied—including the $82.8 million in net losses experienced from July 2021–June 2022. By summer 2023, rates charged by suppliers had reverted to the ‘norm’ of the past eight years.”
The average Net Consumer Loss per Low-Income household shopping for retail electric supply during the period July 2022 – June 2023 was $10, versus a loss of $224 for July 2021 – June 2022
“The report provides further support for the AGO’s recommendation that the Massachusetts Legislature eliminate the individual residential electric supply market due to ‘the size of the harm to consumers, the significant losses in seven out of eight years of this study, and the continuing loss from one year to the next for low-income consumers.”
