Massachusetts Utility Advocacy Handbook

Electric and gas companies in Massachusetts are regulated by the state’s Department of Public Utilities (DPU or Department). As of April 2007, wireline telecommunications companies are regulated by the Department of Telecommunications and Cable (DTC). This manual primarily addresses the rights of customers of electric and gas companies. If you are dealing with problems a telephone customer is...

Utility companies in Massachusetts must send three different bills or notices prior to actually sending out an employee who physically terminates the service (when the service is terminated for nonpayment). First, the company must render a bill, based on an actual meter reading or an estimate. (The use of estimates is regulated under 220 C.M.R. § 25.02.) Second, the company must send a second...

It is often possible to figure out whether a customer is receiving discounted rates for electric and gas service simply by reading the utility bill. ( See Chapter 7, ¶ B for a discussion of discount rates.) Most electric and gas companies in Massachusetts now follow a similar numbering system for their rates, in the format of “R1, R2” or “A1, A2” Whether the first letter is “R” (for residential)...

A. Social Security Numbers and ID Issues In Massachusetts, customers are not required to produce Social Security numbers (SSN) as a condition of getting utility service. In addition, a person’s legal status in the United States is irrelevant when applying for utility service. These two points are particularly important information for immigrants who may be worried about applying for utility...

This chapter describes a “Three-Step Approach” to restoring and maintaining electric and gas service. The Three-Step Approach runs somewhat counter to the way many front-line staff go about addressing utility problems. Frequently, front-line staff begin their efforts by looking for sources of assistance that can help pay the utility bill. In the Three-Step Approach, finding money is actually the...

A. Introduction This chapter will discuss who is eligible for each of the four protections (serious illness, winter moratorium, infant, and elderly), and what a customer must do in order to successfully assert each protection. In general, the protections work both to stop a threatened or impending termination and to restore service that has already been terminated. However, the rights of those who...

A. Introduction After a customer asserts any protection that may be available—serious illness, winter moratorium, infant, elderly—the next step is to figure out whether their bills can be reduced by applying for discount rates that are available and whether the immediate payment obligation can be spread out over time so that their bills are more affordable. The following sections discuss discount...

A. Introduction The third step in the Three-Step Approach is to find sources that can help pay the utility bills, after any available protections have been asserted, and after the customer has been placed on the discount rates and made the best payment plan arrangement possible. B. Direct Bill Payment Assistance: Fuel Assistance and Other Programs 1. HEAP (Fuel Assistance) The fuel assistance...

Utilities are expensive, but utility bills might be even more expensive than necessary if the customer has signed up with a competitive electric supply company or a competitive gas supply company. In Massachusetts, consumers are allowed to choose to buy electric supply from their investor-owned utility (IOU) or from a competitive supply company. Some consumers may also have the option of buying...

A. Introduction Sometimes an individual may have difficulty maintaining or restoring utility service due to bills that were actually rendered in someone else’s name. This arises most commonly when two or more people reside in the same household (for example, spouses, or roommates) but the bills come in one person’s name. The situation can also arise when one person (for example, a parent) puts the...

The State Sanitary Code requires property owners to pay for utilities (gas or electric), unless there are separate meters that measure only the usage in a tenant’s apartment and nothing else (105 C.M.R. § 410.354) and there is a written agreement (lease or other writing) that the tenant pays the utility bills. For example, if a gas meter measures the usage in one tenant’s apartment, but that same...

Sometimes, a property owner pays the utility bills for usage within a tenant’s apartment. For example, the tenants may live in an old building that has only one gas-fired boiler or furnace, and the owner pays the gas heating bills. Or the tenants may live in an old building that has one “master meter” for all of the electricity in the entire building. The Department has special rules that apply...

Local telephone service companies are regulated by the DTC (as of April 11, 2007). As the result of a consumer lawsuit against NYNEX (now Verizon), the DPU (which previously regulated phones) created a set of rules which directly governs Verizon’s practices and must be used as a model for other companies’ procedures. A copy of these rules (D.P.U. 18448) can be found at https://www.mass.gov/info...

Many phone companies and internet service providers operating in Massachusetts offer discounted home phone service, wireless phone service, home internet service, or a wireless data plan to low-income households. 13 Verizon, Assurance Wireless, Safelink Wireless, and other companies 14 offer a discount service called “Lifeline Assistance” to households that receive SSI, Mass Health/Medicaid, SNAP...

A. Introduction This section describes rules included in D.P.U. 18448 , which directly apply to Verizon’s wireline phone service and may apply to other companies offering regulated wireline service in Massachusetts. 15 B. Personal Emergency (Rule 5.17) A company covered by D.P.U. 18448 cannot terminate service if a customer can demonstrate that he or she is unable to pay the bill and that a...

Under a law that first went into effect March 2005, 16 property owners can now require tenants to pay for the water they consume in their apartment units provided several conditions are met: Individual meters have been installed, by a licensed plumber, in each unit where the tenants will be required to pay for the water. Low-flow showerheads and toilets have been installed. The tenant is a new...

The key to successful utility advocacy is simply gathering the relevant facts and making a few phone calls. A few pointers about how to do that follow. First, always make sure to call the company before you call the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) (or the Department of Telecommunications and Cable (DTC)). If you do call the DPU (or DTC) first, the pre-recorded message makes it clear that you...

I. Temporary Illness A. Template To Whom It May Concern: [Name of patient] who resides at [address] is a patient of mine [or: is under my care]. [Name of patient] is being treated for [describe illness or condition], a serious illness. Sincerely, [Doctor’s name and contact information] B. Sample To Whom It May Concern: Graciela Ramos, who resides at 13 Wenwood Drive in Fairhaven, is currently...

This Eversource form is provided as an example only. Advocates and customers should contact the utility company or municipal utility directly for the most updated version of the financial hardship form and other forms. Sample Financial Hardship forms for National Grid Electric and Gas are available as well. Previous Appendix Table of Contents