NStar Electric Is Now Eversource: What Changed

A homeowner in Quincy gets a new electric bill and notices the logo says Eversource. She types "NStar electric" into a search engine, half-expecting to find a separate company. She's not alone. Thousands of Massachusetts residents still search that name every month, often because they moved into a home with an old account, inherited a lease, or simply never paid attention to the rebrand that happened a decade ago.

The short answer: NStar Electric is Eversource. The two names refer to the same utility serving eastern Massachusetts. There is no NStar account to open, no NStar customer service line, and no NStar rate schedule. Everything runs through Eversource today.

NStar itself had a layered history before the Eversource name arrived. It was formed in 1999 when Boston Edison and Commonwealth Electric merged. For years it served hundreds of thousands of customers across eastern Massachusetts under that NStar brand.

In 2012, NStar merged with Northeast Utilities, the Connecticut-based parent of NSTAR and several other New England utilities. The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved the merger with conditions, including rate caps and commitments on reliability spending. Three years later, in 2015, Northeast Utilities rebranded its entire family of utilities under one name: Eversource Energy. NStar became Eversource Massachusetts. Western Massachusetts Electric (WMECo), another subsidiary in the state, folded under the same Eversource umbrella.

The legal entity changed; the wires, poles, and service territory did not. If NStar was your utility before 2015, Eversource is your utility now.

Eversource operates as a regulated monopoly in its territory. That means you cannot choose a different company to deliver electricity to your home. The wires side of your bill, sometimes called distribution, is set by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU). The DPU reviews rate cases, approves reliability standards, and handles formal complaints against the utility.

What you can choose is your electricity supply, which is the generation portion of your bill. That's where competition enters the picture, and it's the part most customers have the most control over.

If you've never switched suppliers and never thought much about the supply portion of your bill, you're on Eversource's Basic Service rate. Basic Service is the default: Eversource procures power on your behalf through a competitive auction process overseen by the DPU, then passes that cost through to customers at cost, with no markup for profit.

As of July 2026, the Eversource default supply rate is approximately 15.6 cents per kilowatt-hour. That's the generation rate alone, not your total bill. Your total bill also includes distribution charges, transmission charges, and various riders that are set by regulators.

Basic Service rates are not fixed forever. Eversource updates them on a set schedule, and the DPU must approve each change. Checking the current rate before shopping for a competitive supplier matters because the comparison only makes sense against the number that's actually active today. You can always find the live Eversource Basic Service rate on the Massachusetts electricity page at ElectricRates.org.

Not every Massachusetts resident is an Eversource customer. National Grid serves a large portion of central and western Massachusetts, as well as the island of Nantucket. If your address falls in Worcester, parts of the Pioneer Valley, or Nantucket, National Grid is your utility, not Eversource.

As of July 2026, National Grid's default supply rate is approximately 15.4 cents per kilowatt-hour, including the Nantucket territory. Rates and competitive options differ somewhat by utility territory, so knowing which utility serves your address is the necessary first step before comparing suppliers.

The merger and rebrand history that produced Eversource has no connection to National Grid. They are separate companies with separate rate cases before the DPU.

Yes. Massachusetts has had retail electric competition since the late 1990s, which means licensed third-party suppliers can offer electricity supply contracts to residential and commercial customers. These competitive suppliers must be licensed by the Massachusetts DPU, and their offers must be clearly labeled so customers can compare them against Basic Service.

As of July 2026, the lowest competitive supplier rate available in the state is approximately 15.1 cents per kilowatt-hour, though availability varies by utility territory and rate structures differ. Some suppliers offer fixed rates, which lock in a price for the contract term. Others offer variable rates, which can move up or down month to month. Fixed-rate contracts can provide budget certainty, but they come with early termination clauses in some cases, so reading the contract terms matters.

The state-run comparison tool is Energy Switch Massachusetts, operated under the auspices of the Massachusetts DPU. It lists licensed suppliers and their current offers. You can also compare live rates and supplier options at ElectricRates.org's Massachusetts page, which pulls current data so the numbers reflect what's actually available now.

Eversource administers several programs for customers who qualify based on income. The Low-Income Electric Discount (LIED) program provides a percentage reduction on the distribution portion of the bill for eligible households. Qualification is tied to income thresholds that the DPU reviews periodically.

Federal heating assistance through LIHEAP (the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) is also available to Massachusetts residents and can help offset energy costs beyond what utility programs cover. Eligibility details and application windows are managed through the state's Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and local community action agencies. For current thresholds and enrollment windows, the authoritative source is the LIHEAP page at Mass.gov.

Customers who are unsure whether they qualify should contact Eversource directly or reach out to their local community action program. ElectricRates.org does not administer assistance programs and cannot verify current eligibility rules.

If you've been on Eversource Basic Service since the NStar days without ever comparing suppliers, July 2026 is a reasonable time to look. With the default supply rate at roughly 15.6 cents per kilowatt-hour and competitive options starting around 15.1 cents, the gap is real but modest. Whether switching makes sense depends on contract terms, rate type, and how long you plan to stay at your address.

A few practical steps:

1. Confirm your utility territory. Check your bill header. If it says Eversource, you're in Eversource territory. If it says National Grid, different rates apply.

2. Note your current Basic Service rate. It's listed on your bill under the supply section. Compare that against any supplier offer before signing.

3. Use a licensed comparison tool. Energy Switch Massachusetts lists only DPU-licensed suppliers. Avoid offers that arrive unsolicited by door-to-door sales or that can't be verified on the state site.

4. Check for contract terms. A rate 0.3 cents lower per kilowatt-hour can be erased by an early termination fee if your situation changes.

5. Revisit periodically. Basic Service rates change on a schedule. A competitive rate that looks attractive today may not look as good six months from now, and vice versa.

NStar Electric was absorbed into Eversource Energy in 2015. The service territory, the poles and wires, the regulatory oversight by the Massachusetts DPU, and the billing structure all carried over intact. If NStar was your utility, Eversource is your utility. Nothing about the rebrand required customers to take action, and nothing about it changed what competition is available on the supply side of the bill.

What has changed is time. Rates in 2026 are meaningfully different from rates in 2015 or 2020. Reviewing your supply rate against current competitive offers costs nothing and takes a few minutes. The numbers above are a starting point; for live figures specific to your territory and address, check ElectricRates.org or Energy Switch Massachusetts directly.