Compare the Best Massachusetts Electricity Rates

How To Set Up Electric Service

Moving can be one of the most stressful things you do. Thankfully, setting up electric service in MA is pretty easy. This guide will walk you through the steps.

What You Need

Make sure to have the information below handy:

• The address of the new location
• Your name and social security number
• Your date of birth
• Your telephone number at the new location
• Your mobile or business phone number
• Start date for service

Find Your Local Utility

Massachusetts has three major utilities.

1. Eversource -- serving Boston,Cambridge, Amherst and Pittsfield.
2. National Grid -- serving Lowell, Medford, Quincy and Northampton.
3. Unitil -- serving 7 communities in the Fitchburg area.

Note -- Eversource has two seperate rate zones with different pricing; East (EMA-C) and West (WMA).

Once you've found your utility, go to their website below. You'll need to set up an account first and provide the requested information.

• Eversource
• National Grid
• Unitil

Your utility can usually start service with one week's notice.

What Is The Basic Service Rate?

When Massachusetts deregulated its electricity market, its utilities became distribution-only companies and had to sell off their power plants. However, utilities are required to provide a basic electric service to customer that did not want to shop. To do this, they buy power by holding auctions twice a year. Rates are determined largely by the lowest accepted bids.

The Basic Service rate reflects what the utility pays for electricity. So you end up paying the exact same price that your utility did.

How Much Is The Basic Service Rate?

Basic Service rates are set in winter and summer. Eversource announces new rates on January 1st and July 1st. National Grid rates change on February 1st and August 1st. Once a rate is set, it will not change until the next rate setting period.

Current basic service rates can be found on your bill.

Because basic service rates only change twice a year, they are not always low priced deals. Energy retailers use a variety of ways to shop and find low prices on the wholesale markets. By hedging, they can find energy supplies at better rates than utility basic service rates.

How To Switch Energy Providers

MA energy choice allows you to shop around for energy providers. This can often save you money because these rates beat the Basic Service rates.

First, get your most recent bill from your utility:

Eversource Massachusetts Bill

National Grid Massachusetts Bill

Unitil Massachusetts Bill

You'll need to provide the following information accurately to process the switch quickly:

• Your service address
• Your current provider's name
• Your utility account number

Remember your utility will still handle the delivery side of your electric service. They will continue delivering your electricity, maintaining the power lines, and responding to outages no matter who supplies your electricity.

Here's how you make the switch.

Step 1: Enter Your ZIP Code

Enter your ZIP code to see the licensed electricity suppliers available in your utility company's service area.

Step 2. Compare Rates and Plans

Use the Basic Service Rate to compare prices offered by approved competitive electricity suppliers to find the best low priced plan. You'll want to compare the price per kilowatt-hour (kWh), contract length, whether the rate is fixed or variable, and how much renewable energy the plan uses.

Step 3. Choose a Plan

Pick one that fits your needs. Fixed-rate plans give you price stability, while variable rates can change month to month. Also, look out for sign-up bonuses or perks. Pay attention to cancellation fees and plan expiration dates! Remember that if you are switching from another competitive supplier, you will want to check over your current contract for these before you switch.

Step 4. Sign Up with the New Provider

Sign up for the new plan right at UtilityRates.com. You won't even need to contact your previous provider.

Step 5. Wait for Confirmation

Your utility will send you confirmation of the switch in the mail. It will show the date of the request and the name of your new energy supplier.

Step 6. FINISHED!

That's all. No fees, no interruptions, no swapping wires around.

Remember that depending when you switch, it may take one or two billing cycles for the switch to go through. Your utility will also handle the changes on your bill and your service won't get interrupted.

And you still have a choice over your supplier! You can shop different MA electricity suppliers or go back to the Basic Service Rate at any time.

How Energy Choice Came To Be

Energy Choice in Massachusetts allows you to choose your MA electricity supplier even though your utility still own and operates the poles and wire that deliver it. This means you are free to shop around for the best low priced energy and not have to worry about keeping your lights on.

In 1997, MA lawmakers passed the Electric Industry Restructuring Act. In a few short years, this law drastically changed the Massachusetts energy markets:

Massachusetts originally burned diesel fuel to power its generators. Energy choice brought in new investment to build new power plants throughout New England. While the number of natural gas generators has quickly increased since 2000, the cost to send more and more natural gas through just 4 pipelines has been rising quickly as well. But while natural gas fueled "power burn" has kept New England power bills high, Massachusetts is investing heavily on building more >green energy sources to keep customer bills lower.

What Are Utilities And Retailers?

Massachusetts four main utilities maintain the poles, power lines, and infrastructure that gets the electricity to your home. They're the ones you call if there's a downed power line or an outage and they also handle billing you for your usage.

But when it comes to supplying the actual electricity that you need in your home, you have a choice whether to get your electricity supply from your utility or a competitive supplier. And that choice can affect how much you pay for it. Here's what you need to know.

What Are Utility companies?

Both Eversource and National Grid offer Basic Service to customers who do not or have not switched to a retail supplier. This power supply comes from yearly auctions where generator companies submit bids on how low they are willing to set their price. The auction results which determine the Basic Service Rate must then be approved by the Department of Public Utilities (DPU). However, this methodically slow machinery isn't agile enough to respond to sudden prices changes on the wholesale market that benefit customers.

What Are Energy Suppliers?

The best MA electricity suppliers., however, are more agile because they use different purchasing methods to line up electricity supply. As a result, the can find better deals and hedge against rising costs through contracts with generators, buying on the Day-Ahead-Market, or through the Real Time Market. And since they compete with multiple companies, their prices tend to move lower faster than the Basic Service rate.