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From the Order Suspending Working Group Proceedings:

[***] “Upon review of the record in this docket, the Commission hereby suspends the working group process, including the upcoming deadline of Wednesday, August 6, 2025, for comments responsive to the staff proposal set forth in the Hearing Officer Memorandum dated July 16, 2025. This Order suspends all further proceedings in this docket until further Commission order.

The Commission thanks all stakeholders for their participation in this year’s working group proceedings. Moreover, the Commission commends and extends its appreciation to Department staff who have dedicated significant time and effort to advancing solutions to the severe problems afflicting the residential competitive supply market in the Commonwealth, especially since this docket resumed in February of this year.

On May 15, 2025, Governor Healey introduced H4144, Energy Affordability, Independence & Innovation Act . The Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy held a hearing on the Governor’s legislation on June25, 2025. The legislation would require substantial reforms to the residential competitive supply market, including robust new consumer protections to remedy the very problems that Department staff have sought to address through the working group process. In light of these developments, the Legislature is the appropriate venue for further discussions regarding the residential competitive supply market.

The Commission and Department staff have grappled for years with the deficiencies in the residential competitive supply market. Absent legislative reform, the Commonwealth’s residents will remain exposed to teaser rates, deceptive and high-pressure sales tactics, and vague and excessive greenwashing claims. Both through enforcement proceedings against individual suppliers that engage in misconduct to the detriment of consumers, and through the effort to achieve stakeholder consensus in the D.P.U. 19-07 working group processes, the Department has determined that substantial reform of the residential competitive supply market is necessary. The Legislature is best positioned to deliver such reforms, including by adopting Governor Healey’s proposals in H.4144. The Commission urges the Legislature to take swift action to adopt the necessary reforms. The Department will be prepared to resume its efforts, if necessary, after the legislative process concludes.” [***]

Previously on July 29th, the hearing officers rejected REAL and RESA’s requests to extend the comment period from the August 6th deadline to September 5th to submit counter proposals in response to Staff’s latest proposal for a retail electric market reset being examined by Stakeholder Working Group in D.P.U. 19-07.

As reported previously, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) Staff’s revised proposal was, “intended to provide a framework for the supplier community and Consumer Advocates to use as they develop their proposals.”

Excerpts from Hearing Officers Memo:

[***] “The Retail Energy Advancement Leage (“REAL”) and the Retail Energy Supply Association (“RESA”) respectfully request an extension of the deadline for submitting proposals to September 5, 2025. In support of this extension request, REAL and RESA note that the Market Reset Proposal is highly detailed and that development of specific proposals among multiple retail electric suppliers warrant thoughtful consideration. In addition, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (“NARUC”) Summer conference is scheduled for July 27 – July 30 and the National Conference of State Legislatures (“NCSL”) will hold its conference a week later on August 4 – August 6, and a number of competitive suppliers are planning to attend those events. Moreover, the August 6th deadline occurs in the middle of peak Summer vacation season when many representatives of competitive suppliers are out of the office. Most significantly, an extension of the deadline during this busy period would allow for productive discussion among competitive suppliers with the goal of reaching consensus on a proposal to share with Department Staff on this important energy consumer matter.

REAL and RESA said that “an extension of the deadline during this busy period would allow for productive discussion among competitive suppliers with the goal of reaching consensus on a proposal to share with Department Staff on this important energy consumer matter.” [***]

The Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) and Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources objected to any extension.

In its pleading the AG argued that the original August 6 deadline would allow Staff to “determine whether it is worthwhile to continue to engage stakeholders through the Working Group process or recommend to the Commission that it is the best interest of the Department and stakeholders to end the process.”

Order Suspending Working Group Proceedings (08/01/2025)

Hearing Officers Memo Denying Extension Request (07/29/2025)

19-07

(Investigation by the Department of Public Utilities on its own Motion into Initiatives to Promote and Protect Consumer Interests in the Retail Electric Competitive Supply Market)