FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 1, 2025
CONTACT: gastransitionallies.org
STATEMENT: Gas Transition Allies applauds the Healey Administration for working to protect consumers from mounting costs of the Gas System Enhancement Program
The order issued by the Department of Public Utilities balances ensuring energy affordability for ratepayers with meeting the Commonwealth’s mandates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while continuing to prioritize the safety of the gas pipeline system.
BOSTON – Yesterday the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities issued an order directing gas companies to make significant changes to the Gas System Enhancement Program (GSEP) to control rising energy costs for ratepayers and to commence an orderly transition over many years to clean renewable energy to heat our homes and businesses.
The GSEP program was created in 2014 to give gas companies accelerated cost-recovery for replacing leak-prone gas pipes outside the regular utility rate cases. While well-intentioned at the time, the delivery costs charged to ratepayers by the biggest companies since 2014 have escalated dramatically. Annual spending on GSEP has been increasing by 15% to 20% per year over the last decade, pushed up by large scale capital spending on GSEP and non-GSEP projects, reaching almost $1 billion last year. If left unchecked, total costs for GSEP could mount to almost $42 billion through the end of the century.
Responding to legislative mandates enacted over the last six years, the DPU order addresses these problems. (1) It lowers the cap on expenditures that gas companies are allowed to charge ratepayers for accelerated cost recovery. (2) It provides incentives to encourage gas companies to use non-emitting, non-gas pipeline alternatives, to avoid further investment in fossil fuel infrastructure. (3) It eliminates incentives for gas companies to spend more on GSEP projects than amounts approved by the DPU. (4) It requires gas companies to adopt a rigorous risk prioritization process for replacing or retiring leak-prone pipes that pose safety hazards. (5) It encourages gas companies to avoid unnecessary investment in potential stranded assets by prioritizing advanced leak repair technology.
In response to this decision, Gas Transition Allies released the following statement:
“This order by the Department of Public Utilities is a powerful directive that will help bring down energy costs for ratepayers, reduce the potential burden on taxpayers of billions of dollars in stranded assets, and move the Commonwealth toward its climate goals. By taking steps to incentivize gas companies to control costs, to evaluate more affordable solutions to replacing leak-prone pipes, and to explore non-gas pipeline alternatives, the DPU sent clear direction to the gas industry that it is time to move beyond gas,” said Marilyn Ray Smith of Gas Transition Allies. “Over the past 10 years, the Gas System Enhancement Program has enabled gas companies to spend ratepayer money at a premium to replace outdated methane gas pipes, undermining Massachusetts’s climate goals and driving up gas bills as a result. We are proud to see the DPU follow the direction of the Legislature, the GSEP working group, and the advocacy community to put the ratepayer first. And we applaud the leadership from Energy Secretary Rebecca Tepper, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, and the Healey-Driscoll administration in supporting the DPU for taking this bold step toward building healthier, more affordable communities."
Audrey Schulman, also of the Gas Transition Allies and director of HEETlabs and a member of the Commonwealth’s GSEP Working Group, commented, “GSEP has become a large reason for our high gas bills. Why are we investing our children’s money in infrastructure they aren’t likely to be able to use? The gas companies keep talking about safety, but the best way to reduce the danger of gas is to get off of it.”
###
About Gas Transition Allies
Founded in 2015, Gas Transition Allies is a coalition of more than 25 organizations, researchers, and advocates focused on reducing methane emissions from the Massachusetts gas distribution system while developing strategies for a just, equitable transition to non-combusting energy sources. Driven by the urgency of the climate crisis and the need for a rapid, managed transition off of gas, we work toward implementing non-combusting energy systems such as utility-scale geothermal networks that use water instead of gas to heat and cool our homes. We continue to address issues with leaking gas inside our homes, in our communities, and from the gas industry as a whole. In all our work, we promote environmental justice, advocate for good jobs, and advance energy solutions that benefit rather than penalize low-income communities.
For more information, visit https://www.gastransitionallies.org.