Meet Martin Lowenthal. Martin is a resident of Newton, MA who has been playing by the rules. He did everything state authorities suggested to prepare him for his energy needs in the future by installing solar panels on his roof, converting his home heating from oil to heat pumps, and switched out his old water heater.
Instead of savings, he got slammed with this month’s massive spike in energy costs.
Martin’s story is all too common across New England in 2025. And as Massachusetts legislators continue to push costly green energy policies, the costs to consumers are bound to start going up.
The simple fact is that Massachusetts leaders are dismantling our state’s fossil fuel infrastructure, which guarantees affordable and reliable power when the region needs it, while simultaneously forcing residents to increase electrical consumption by mandating electrification of everything from home heating to automobiles. The costly and intermittent renewable energy solutions they’re pushing are simply not capable of filling in the gap between our increasing demand and the self-inflicted shortfall in our supply. That’s why your bill, as well as Martin’s, will continue to go up even more in the coming years.
As we’ve mentioned before, the Fiscal Alliance Foundation co-published a study in November taking a look at the green energy mandates being passed across New England and the effect they will have on residents within our shared power grid. The findings show that our electrical rates are set to double, over and above any increases that will occur due to inflation, by 2050 and blackouts will become commonplace unless we change course. You can read that study here: https://www.fiscalalliancefoundation.org/green-energy-mandates-will-double-electric-rates-cause-rolling-blackouts-in-region
The obvious solution to this price crunch is to take a step back and reassess our options. We are remarkably close to the largest shale-producing natural gas source in the country, and nuclear has come leaps and bounds from what it once was. The fact is, we will always need a consistent form of energy for our grid to reliably run on, even if supplemented by renewables. It would make sense to reconsider taking advantage of smart resources available for the ratepayers and the economic growth of our region. We pay the highest prices in the country for our energy and need to address this issue to stay competitive. It would also make sense to consider repealing laws already passed that result in current and future price increases.
If Massachusetts wants to reverse course, it needs to replace the green climate mandates with goals. These green climate mandates are what is driving regulators to pursue policies that are costing ratepayers so much. It’s time for Massachusetts lawmakers to put consumers first and reverse course before energy costs spiral further out of control. Rolling back these mandates and restoring affordable, reliable energy options isn’t just smart policy—it’s a necessity.
Regards,
Paul Gangi
Program Director
Fiscal Alliance Foundation
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