President Franklin D. Roosevelt once referred to public power as a “yardstick,” in that people served by a private for-profit utility could judge the quality and rates of their utility provider against what is possible with a public power model.
The hallmarks of the not-for profit public power business model are local control and local decision-making authority. Public power utilities offer superior service at a low cost, as demonstrated below.
From 2014 through 2023, MMWEC Member MLP customers saved an average of $12,904.83 over investor-owned utility customers.
MMWEC compiled utility rate data from 2004-present to illustrate how average MMWEC Member utility rates compared to investor-owned utility rates in Massachusetts over the past 19 years. The amounts are based on a monthly consumption of 750 kilowatt hours of electricity.
As demonstrated in the chart below, total investor-owned utility bills from the 2004-present data range were $10,100 to $17,000 higher than MMWEC Member utility averages.
View the tables below to see how monthly investor-owned utility bills and average MMWEC Member utility bills varied annually.
| Average Monthly Bill ($) | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eversource- Cape Cod | $167 | $165 | $167 | $183 | $184 | $180 | $193 | $256 | $283 |
| Percentage above MMWEC Member Average | 54% | 53% | 56% | 67% | 64% | 62% | 70% | 110% | 113% |
| Eversource- Cambridge | $162 | $160 | $163 | $180 | $180 | $174 | $185 | $238 | $277 |
| Percentage above MMWEC Member Average | 50% | 49% | 52% | 64% | 61% | 57% | 64% | 96% | 109% |
| Eversource- WMECO | $164 | $147 | $153 | $170 | $168 | $167 | $176 | $220 | $258 |
| Percentage above MMWEC Member Average | 51% | 37% | 43% | 56% | 50% | 50% | 55% | 80% | 95% |
| National Grid | $156 | $148 | $165 | $179 | $185 | $188 | $196 | $233 | $281 |
| Percentage above MMWEC Member Average | 44% | 38% | 54% | 64% | 65% | 69% | 73% | 92% | 112% |
| Unitil | $181 | $177 | $182 | $196 | $199 | $201 | $214 | $253 | $320 |
| Percentage above MMWEC Member Average | 67% | 65% | 70% | 79% | 78% | 81% | 89% | 108% | 141% |
| Eversource- Boston | $162 | $155 | $160 | $179 | $180 | $174 | $185 | $238 | $277 |
| Percentage above MMWEC Member Average | 50% | 44% | 50% | 64% | 61% | 57% | 64% | 96% | 109% |
| MMWEC Member MLP Average | $107 | $105 | $104 | $106 | $108 | $107 | $109 | $122 | $133 |
| Average Monthly Bill ($) | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eversource- Cape Cod | $110 | $118 | $147 | $143 | $153 | $150 | $133 | $133 | $129 | $138 | $146 |
| Percentage above MMWEC Member Average | 45% | 44% | 61% | 56% | 50% | 45% | 29% | 31% | 29% | 36% | 38% |
| Eversource- Cambridge | $92 | $103 | $149 | $144 | $139 | $134 | $116 | $112 | $113 | $121 | $144 |
| Percentage above MMWEC Member Average | 22% | 26% | 63% | 58% | 36% | 30% | 12% | 10% | 12% | 19% | 36% |
| Eversource- WMECO | $82 | $92 | $120 | $127 | $132 | $126 | $112 | $116 | $119 | $128 | $135 |
| Percentage above MMWEC Member Average | 9% | 12% | 31% | 39% | 30% | 22% | 9% | 14% | 19% | 26% | 28% |
| National Grid | $87 | $96 | $117 | $121 | $127 | $120 | $109 | $104 | $103 | $113 | $135 |
| Percentage above MMWEC Member Average | 14% | 18% | 27% | 32% | 24% | 16% | 5% | 2% | 3% | 11% | 27% |
| Unitil | $102 | $115 | $150 | $150 | $155 | $151 | $145 | $145 | $142 | $149 | $166 |
| Percentage above MMWEC Member Average | 34% | 40% | 63% | 64% | 52% | 46% | 40% | 42$ | 41% | 47% | 56% |
| Eversource- Boston | $95 | $115 | $152 | $140 | $146 | $143 | $126 | $124 | $123 | $126 | $141 |
| Percentage above MMWEC Member Average | 25% | 41% | 66% | 52% | 44% | 38% | 21% | 21% | 22% | 24% | 33% |
| MMWEC Member MLP Average | $79 | $85 | $94 | $92 | $102 | $102 | $103 | $102 | $101 | $102 | $105 |
