This blog post is an update on the Senate Energy Bill. For more information about previous versions of the bill, see our post about November’s Climate Rollback Bill here, February’s House Energy Bill here, and the perils of cutting $1 billion from the Mass Save Budget as proposed by the House here. Thank you to 350 Mass volunteers Iselle, Mike, Mark, Bob, Jon, Jonathan, and David; Hessann from BCAN; the Mass Power Forward Planning Team; and a host of allies for your contributions and advice. This is a live document and will be updated as the bill moves forward.

 

On Wednesday, June 24, the Senate Ways and Means Committee finally moved forward with the Senate’s version of this session’s energy omnibus bill, S.3143, filed as an amendment to the House’s version H.5175. The bill is 150 pages with 105 sections and was given to committee members just one hour before (a largely ceremonial) vote in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. All Senators have till Friday, June 26th at 4 PM to submit amendments to this new bill. There will be a floor debate over the bill and amendments leading to a final Senate vote on Wednesday, July 1st.

 

Over the last four months since the House passed their version in late February, 350 Mass has been preparing with our allies for this moment. 

 

You can take action with us by:

 

Read on to learn more about the process for passing this bill, the content, and how we’re mobilizing for clean, affordable energy for all.

 

Process

 

Typically bills are filed in January of the first year of session; heard in committee; given a favorable vote and sent to Ways and Means; amended and voted on by each chamber; then signed by the governor. Schoolhouse Rock flashbacks!

 

Our Legislature, however, prefers to mash many bills, or select parts of bills, and policies together into omnibus bills, or giant packages of legislation. The Senate Energy Omnibus is around 150 pages with 105 sections; some of the bills we typically file are 4-12 pages.

 

June, 2025: Governor Healey filed the first version of her energy omnibus bill.

 

November, 2025: House TUE Chair Cusack released a new bill modeled off of the Governor’s but legislatively independent; this allowed him to move without the consent of the Senate and try and push through a particularly heinous Climate Rollback Bill. There was no hearing for the bill. While it was voted out of TUE the poor process, poor content, and massive outcry from our movement encouraged House leadership to put it on ice for most of the winter.

 

February, 2026: House energy bill moves in a week, includes $1 billion cut to mass save.

 

June, 2026: Senate energy bill moves forward, largely a massive improvement over the House bill. No cut to Mass Save. Read on for notes on content.

  • Wednesday, June 24: Senate Ways and Means polled on the bill at 10 am, with a vote due in just 60 minutes at 11 am.
  • Friday, June 26: Amendments due by 4 pm, not shared with the public until after the filing deadline.
  • Wednesday, July 1: Senate floor debate and vote on the bill. Help us pack the gallery here!

 

July-December, 2026: Once the Senate passes their version of the bill, Senate and House leadership will each appoint a three-member conference committee. This typically consists of the relevant committee chair (TUE), the ranking minority (highest ranking Republican), and a representative of leadership. While our movement will be pushing the conference committee to get their jobs done by the July 31 end of formal session, legislators wove a loophole into their joint rules for the session. As long as a bill is in conference committee, it can go past the end of formal session! If that is the case, we may be advocating for a comprehensive climate bill well into the fall.  



Content

The Senate Energy Bill represents a significant improvement over previous versions. It includes significant policy changes that 350 Mass, Mass Power Forward, and our allies across the movement have fought hard for around Mass Save, wasteful fossil fuel infrastructure spending, and utility profiteering. It is also a 150 page, 105 section bill packed full of policy on a wide variety of issues. This blog will not contain a full summary, but rather will focus on some of the key elements most relevant to our priorities.

 

This section will get into some of the overview of what the bill does and the key policy elements, both good and bad, within. Click here for the 350 Mass Legislative Agenda and here for our Mass Power Forward Coalition’s Legislative Agenda.

 

The bill achieves many of our main policy goals for the session, particularly our goals around Mass Save, stopping fossil fuel infrastructure, and cutting utility profiteering. Some of the key programs discussed in the bill include:

 

  • Mass Save: The State’s premiere energy efficiency program in the state, supporting over 76,000 jobs. It provides energy efficiency and weatherization upgrades to residential and business buildings. The bill would preserve funding for the program, rejecting the $1 billion cut proposed by the House. It also empowers Mass Save to offer clean energy technologies such as solar and battery storage that cut bills, a core demand of our Save Money with Clean Heat campaign.
  • GSEP: The Gas System Enhancement Program, originally designed to stop leaky methane pipes. The program empowered utilities to replace, rather than repair, both leaky and “leak prone” pipes at massive cost to the ratepayers. This has allowed obscene utility profiteering without accompanying benefits to customer safety from gas leaks. We demanded, and the Senate agreed, to phase out GSEP and return those savings to ratepayers. Without GSEP gas lines will still be repaired, but utilities won’t be incentivized to replace miles and miles of unnecessary pipes on our dime. This will save around $1.46 billion over the next 10 years!
  • Securitization: One of the most obscure elements of the bill, but also one of the biggest drivers of cost savings. Securitization allows the utilities to borrow over a longer period of time at a significantly lower interest rate to finance infrastructure projects, passing those savings along to ratepayers. Securitization is one of the biggest cost savers in the bill, with the Senate anticipating $5.48-$7.10 billion in savings over the next 10 years.

Note on Politics: One of the main dynamics at play here is inter-chamber competition. The Senate and House are challenging each other to see who can generate the greatest savings and long term benefits for ratepayers dealing with high utility bills. Per materials circulated by the Senate, the Governor’s initial proposal would save $11.6-$14.3 billion; the House’s would save $7.9-$9.0 billion; and the Senate would save $13.6-$16.2 billion, all over the next 10 years. One of the main differences? The House’s savings come in large part from axing the Mass Save budget, which generates $2.76 for every dollar invested and paves the way to a clean, affordable energy future. The Senate’s savings come in large part from phasing out GSEP, which keeps us hooked on methane gas, and limiting the ability of utilities to make obscene profits off of ratepayers.

 

The good, bad, and missing:

 

GOOD:
  • Mass Save Funding Preservation: Mass Save funding is preserved, no $1 billion cut like we saw in the House in February. Administrative costs are capped at 5% and gas companies are removed from administering the program. Adjusts the scope of the program to include solar, battery storage, and other clean energy technologies that save customers money.
  • GSEP (Gas System Enhancement Program) Phase Out: GSEP is phased out over four years. Utilities are required to do advanced leak repair where feasible, as opposed to costly and unnecessary full pipe replacements.
  • Clean Energy Procurement: DOER (Department Of Energy Resources) is authorized to procure 20 GW (Gigawatts) of renewable energy, including 10 GW of solar and 10 GW of wind, by 2040. 
  • Securitization: Utilities are authorized to “securitize”investments needed for electrification of buildings and transportation and elimination of expensive polluting fossil fuels.  Securization provides long term low interest loans for infrastructure that minimizes costs and profiteering  and maximizes customer savings. 
  • Third Party Supplier Regulation: Competitive or third party electricity suppliers, who often rip off vulnerable communities with misleading offers, are strongly regulated. This is similar to good language in the House bill, including a local option for municipalities to ban third party suppliers. Third-party supply prices are capped for discount rate customers with bans on automatic renewals, cancellation fees, and variable rates.
  • Thermal Energy Networks: Authorizes gas companies to create thermal energy networks (networked geothermal) with worker protections. While the labor language needs tweaks (see amendments below), this represents a key shift for the gas companies and their work forces towards clean heating. It also allows more funding for thermal energy.
  • Utility Profiteering: Strong language around utility accountability to bar ratepayer funding of: promotional and political advertising; trade-association dues; charitable giving; lobbying; board/officer travel, lodging, entertainment, gifts, food/beverage, aircraft; tax penalties; non-regulated product marketing. Penalties equal the full improperly recovered amount; refunds carry interest. See amendments (below) for further upgrades.
  • Low-Moderate Income (LMI) Discount Rates: Preserves discount rates for low and moderate income residents. 20% of Mass Save is designated for LMI programs, codifying in law a recent equity allocation win in the latest Mass Save 3 year plan.
  • Virtual Power Plans (VPP) and Peak Shaving: EDCs (Electric Distribution Companies) must file load management and VPP plans (these include vehicle-to-grid programs for EVs). This helps reduce the burden on the grid during highest energy use (peak) days, preventing dirty, expensive methane gas peaker plants from being turned on.
  • Utility Investments Programs: Requires electric companies to create Inclusive Utility Investments programs with consumer protections.
  • No Repeal of Nuclear Ballot: No repeal of nuclear democratic protections from the 1982 law, which was in the house bill.
  • Heat Wave Shut Off Ban: Ban on electric shutoffs during heat waves, similar to the heating shutoff ban we have during cold weather. 
  • Enabling Microgrids; Governments, including the City, can operate a microgrid and distribute energy to private customers 
  • Balcony Solar: Allows for balcony solar in a limited way. 
  • Gas Transition Planning: Requires DPU (Department of Public Utilities) to conduct integrated energy planning to facilitate transition off gas. Requires utility disclosure of how infrastructure investment decisions (e.g. substation constructions) are made and reduce them.

 

 

BAD: (many of these we are supporting amendments to fix)
  • Income Verification: Mass Save programs must verify household income for moderate-income rebates. This creates further obstacles for LMI customers. LMI programs under Mass Save have been hugely successful via “self attestation”, where program participants are not required to go through onerous income verification processes. 
  • Mass Save Budget Caps: Mass Save Budgets capped for each 3 yr. plan. No mid-term increases allowed. 
  • Corporate Representation in Mass Save Governance: Adds business representatives to the Mass Save Energy EfficiencyAdvisory Council) 
  • Weakening Renewable Portfolio Standards: Reduces RPS (Renewable Portfolio Standards) increase from 3% to 1%, reducing funding for key decarbonization programs through the ACPs (Alternative Compliance Payments). The House wanted these funds returned to ratepayers effectively cutting funding for MassCEC, while the Senate wants to reduce the amount of renewable energy we require the utilities to build.
  • Biomass as Renewable Energy: Woody biomass (trees, shrubs, etc) are included as a clean energy source under the eligible Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standard for Municipal Lighting plants. This highly polluting source needs to be removed from the list!

 

MISSING:
  • Preventing Gas System Expansion: No ban on large gas pipeline expansions by gas companies.
  • Stopping Ratepayers from Paying for LEA (Line Extension Allowances):  No ban on ratepayers subsidizing line extensions for new construction/new customers.
  • Protections from Data Centers: No inclusion of protections from data center development (the House included modest protections around clean energy and increases in costs to ratepayers)
  • Z-Metering: This expansion of net metering would allow institutions and municipalities to share net metering credits with customers, opening up the amount of customers that can benefit from rooftop solar.

 

Mobilization

 

350 Mass and our allies have been preparing for this Senate bill since the House passed their version. We are mobilizing our advocates and allies to read the bill, file amendments, contact senators, and pack the Senate chambers on Wednesday for the vote.

 

You can take action with us by:

 

The Action Guide contains our coalition priority amendments and brief descriptions of what they entail. The Action Network sends that priority list to your Senator. It is critical that Senators hear from as many constituents as possible to support our priorities!

 

There is a nationwide attempt to pin high energy bills on clean, affordable energy. We can lead the nation in reducing utility bills and pushing forward toward climate justice at the same time.

 

Together, we can win.

 

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