What's Actually on Your Massachusetts Electric Bill (2026)
Eversource and National Grid bills are some of the highest in the country. Knowing what each line means is the difference between accepting it and doing something about it.
Why is my bill so high when the rate is only 18.4¢/kWh?
Because the per-kWh rate is only one of six charges stacked on a typical Massachusetts bill. Supply, delivery, transmission, a fixed customer charge (averaging $9.00/month across 3 Massachusetts utilities), riders, and taxes all sit on top of each other. Roughly half of the total is the supply rate you can shop. The other half — delivery and fixed charges — stays the same whether you switch or not. Below: each line, what it costs, and which ones you can actually move.
A typical Massachusetts bill, line by line
For a residential customer using 1,000 kWh per month — the U.S. average — here's what each line on the bill actually costs.
Sample residential bill — Massachusetts, 1,000 kWh
Statewide averages — your actual bill varies by utility and supplier.
| Supply (1000 kWh × 14.5¢) | $145.00 |
| Distribution (1000 kWh × 5.2¢) | $52.00 |
| Transition + transmission (1000 kWh × 2.0¢) | $20.00 |
| Customer charge | $10.00 |
| Renewable / EE riders | $13.00 |
| Total monthly bill | $240.00 |
Statewide average customer charge across 3 Massachusetts utilities: $9.00/mo. Average default residential energy rate: 18.4¢/kWh. Source: NREL URDB.
What every line means
Utilities use slightly different labels on their printed bills, but every Massachusetts electric bill includes some version of each of these charges:
Supply / generation charge
Either your utility's Basic Service rate or a competing supplier or municipal aggregation rate. Shoppable in Massachusetts.
Distribution charge
Per-kWh charge from Eversource or National Grid for distribution wires, poles, and substations.
Transition charge
Legacy charge recovering stranded costs from the 1998 restructuring. Slowly phasing out but still appears on most MA bills.
Transmission charge
Cost of high-voltage ISO New England transmission, allocated through your utility.
Customer charge
Fixed monthly charge — currently $10.00 for both Eversource and National Grid residential customers.
Renewable energy charge / energy efficiency reconciliation
Funds the Renewable Portfolio Standard, Mass Save efficiency programs, and solar incentive recovery.
No state sales tax
Massachusetts exempts residential electric service from sales tax — one of the few states that does.
The big idea: Massachusetts has the highest residential electric rates in the contiguous U.S. The basic service rate updates every six months for Eversource and every six months for National Grid (on staggered schedules). Municipal aggregation — your city or town buying supply on your behalf — is now the most common alternative to basic service.
What you can change vs. what you can't
Every line on a Massachusetts electric bill falls into one of two buckets. Knowing the difference is the entire point of bill literacy.
You CAN change
- Your supply / generation rate (shop a competing supplier)
- Your usage — through efficiency, behavioral change, weatherization
- When you use electricity (if you're on TOU)
- Whether you're on the right plan structure for your household
You CAN'T change
- Your utility (it's set by your address)
- The distribution and transmission charges
- The fixed monthly customer charge
- Regulatory riders, taxes, and surcharges
The shoppable portion is roughly half your bill. A 20% improvement on the shoppable half = 10% off your total bill. That's the realistic ceiling of what switching suppliers can save you — anyone advertising "save 50% on your electric bill" is either confused or selling you something.
Why your bill went up
If your Massachusetts electric bill jumped recently, the cause is almost always one of these four. Walk through them in order:
1. Your usage went up
Cold snap, heatwave, a new appliance, a houseguest, a new EV. Look at the kWh number on this bill versus last month and the same month last year. If kWh is higher, the cost was always going to be higher — supplier switching won't fix it.
2. Your supply rate reset
Your fixed-rate contract expired and you rolled to a month-to-month rate — typically 30-50% higher. Or your utility updated its default Basic Service rate (Massachusetts and Pennsylvania utilities reset their default rate every 6-12 months). This is the most fixable cause.
3. The utility raised distribution or fixed charges
Approved by the DPU in a base rate case. These changes are announced months in advance and affect every customer of that utility equally. Shopping suppliers won't avoid them.
4. A new rider was added
New energy efficiency surcharge, storm response cost recovery, or transmission upgrade rider. Usually a few percent of your bill at most. Itemized on the bill.
Our Bill Grade tool reads your bill and tells you which of these four caused your increase — and which (if any) you can fix this month.
Massachusetts utilities at a glance
Customer charge and default residential energy rate for each Massachusetts utility. Click through to see live supplier rates available in that territory.
| Utility | Customer charge | Default rate | Tariff source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eversource Energy (MA) | $10.00/mo | 17.8¢/kWh | Tariff PDF |
| National Grid (MA) | $10.00/mo | 18.1¢/kWh | Tariff PDF |
| Nantucket Electric | $7.00/mo | 19.4¢/kWh | Tariff PDF |
Want to know if your bill is high?
Upload your most recent Massachusetts electric bill or type in a few numbers and we'll grade it against rates available in your area today. Free, no signup.
Frequently asked questions
What are all the charges on my Massachusetts electric bill?
A Massachusetts residential bill from Eversource, National Grid, or Nantucket Electric breaks into supply and delivery. Supply covers the electrons and is either Basic Service from your EDC or the rate from your chosen competitive supplier or municipal aggregation. Delivery is broken out further. Distribution pays for the local wires the EDC owns. Transition pays off legacy costs from the 1997 restructuring. Transmission funds the high-voltage grid. A fixed customer charge covers metering and billing. Renewable energy riders fund the Renewable Portfolio Standard, energy efficiency, and net metering. Residential electric service is exempt from Massachusetts sales tax.
What is the difference between Basic Service and delivery charges in Massachusetts?
Basic Service is the default supply rate Eversource or National Grid charges customers who have not chosen a competitive supplier or joined municipal aggregation. The DPU approves Basic Service rates twice a year for residential customers, in January and July. Delivery is what the EDC charges to move power to your meter, regardless of who supplies it. Switching to a competitive supplier or aggregation program replaces Basic Service with that supplier’s rate but leaves distribution, transition, transmission, the customer charge, and the renewable riders unchanged. Those delivery components are set by DPU tariff and identical for every customer in your rate class.
Why does my Massachusetts electric bill spike in winter even when usage looks steady?
Massachusetts Basic Service rates reset every six months. The winter cycle, running November 1 through April 30 for most Eversource and National Grid residential customers, carries a higher per-kWh supply rate than the summer cycle because of regional natural gas pipeline constraints driving up wholesale power prices. Massachusetts already has the highest residential electricity rates in the contiguous U.S., so even a modest per-kWh increase translates to real dollars. Heat pumps, electric resistance heat, and electric water heaters push winter usage higher than summer in many homes, compounding the effect.
How can I reduce the parts of my Massachusetts bill I can control?
Supply is shoppable. The DPU’s Energy Switch Massachusetts site lists every licensed competitive supplier with a per-kWh price next to your EDC’s current Basic Service rate. Many municipalities also run an aggregation program that negotiates a group rate on behalf of all residents. Locking a fixed supply rate below Basic Service trims every future kWh charge. Eversource and National Grid offer residential time-of-use rates that reward shifting heavy loads — laundry, dishwashers, EV charging — to overnight hours. Distribution, transition, transmission, the customer charge, and the renewable riders are set by DPU order and apply to every customer in your rate class.