Latest news: section 107 of the Green Communities Act directs the Department of Energy Resources to study by January 1, 2009 the fiscal impact, viability, barriers and long-term results of establishing new munis in Massachusetts.

Click here to watch a presentation about Bill H3319 and why Massachusetts cities and towns should have the option to form new munis. Click here to download the presentation.

Click here to watch a video explaining what municipal electric utilities are and why Massachusetts should have more.

Compared with Massachusetts investor-owned utilities (such as NStar), municipal electric utilities generally offer:

• lower electricity rates: if NStar's rates were as low as what munis charge, Massachusetts residents would save each year about $400 million, and Massachusetts businesses and public facilities (schools, hospitals, etc) about $300 million
  
  • NStar and National Grid charge more than existing Massachusetts munis:

(source: MMWEC surveys for 500 kWh per month)
• Boston-area munis charged households an average of 24% less than NStar rates over the past 12 years
• schools served by munis instead of NStar pay about half for electricity
• improved reliability: fewer power outages, shorter outages

• greater responsiveness to local priorities: using clean energy, relocating facilities, maintaining the visual quality of the community, undergrounding the system

  
       Lexington Today (NStar)                Lexington with a Muni?

  

• better customer service: faster response to questions and complaints, quicker resolution of problems

A State law dating back to early in the last century allows a city or town to create a municipal electric utility by acquiring the distribution equipment from the investor-owned utility at a fair price. But no new municipal electric utility has been formed in Massachusetts since 1926. The wording of the law is outdated and vague, and must be clarified to allow communities to exercise the rights they have in principle.

Bill H3319 will restore competition in the distribution of electricity. Even if just a small handful of new municipal electric utilities are created under Bill H3319, investor-owned utilities will have to keep their customers satisfied, something they have not needed to worry about for many decades. As measured by JD Power in 2006, NStar was almost last among utilities nationwide for customer satisfaction and National Grid (formerly Mass Electric) received low ratings:

2006 ranking	Rating by Residential customers	Rating by Business customers
NStar (nationwide)	74th out of 76 utilities	last out of 51 utilities
National Grid (nationwide)	55th out of 76 utilities	26th out of 51 utilities

This legislation will encourage investor-owned utilities to improve service, reduce rates and become more responsive to local needs everywhere, benefiting all Massachusetts residents and businesses.

Please join MAMEC's efforts to get H3319 enacted: sign up and write to your State legislators in support of H3319.