SOUTH COAST In 14 of the 16 South Coast cities and towns with a municipal electricity program, households on the program's default price are paying about 17% less for power supply through January than customers on Eversource's or National Grid's standard rate. For a home using 600 kilowatt-hours a month, the difference is $17 to $18 a month.
The difference comes from the utilities' basic service prices for the six months from Aug. 1 through Jan. 31. Eversource's residential rate is 17.323 cents per kilowatt-hour, and National Grid's fixed rate is 17.185 cents, up from 15.372 cents in the six months before, according to the state's Energy Switch comparison site and National Grid's rate table. Fourteen of the 16 town programs charge 14.346 cents for their default product, a price fixed from November 2025 meter reads until November 2028 meter reads.
The programs were the costlier choice for much of last year. In the 14 communities whose programs run through the website masscea.com, a slightly different group that includes Fairhaven but not Wareham, enrolled homes paid more under the previous fixed price than they would have on the utilities' basic service from February 2025 until the new price took effect, the programs' own annual reports and renewal letters show.
What a home pays now
At 600 kilowatt-hours a month, the average use Eversource cites in its rate announcements, the 14.346 cent price comes to $17.86 a month less than Eversource's basic service and $17.03 less than National Grid's, by our calculation, or a little more than $100 over the six-month rate period. The difference shows up only on the supply part of the bill. Eversource and National Grid still deliver the power, send the bill and set the delivery charges, which the programs do not change.
Two programs are priced differently. Fairhaven's default product costs 14.742 cents because it adds 10 percentage points of renewable energy beyond the state requirement, and residents there can choose a 14.346 cent option instead. Rochester, which runs its own program with Direct Energy as supplier, charges 13.7 cents through December 2027 meter reads, $21.74 a month below Eversource for the same home.
| Community | Utility | Town program default price | Utility basic service | Monthly difference at 600 kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acushnet | Eversource | 14.346 | 17.323 | $17.86 less |
| Dartmouth | Eversource | 14.346 | 17.323 | $17.86 less |
| Dighton | National Grid (part of town) | 14.346 | 17.185 | $17.03 less |
| Fairhaven | Eversource | 14.742 | 17.323 | $15.49 less |
| Fall River | National Grid | 14.346 | 17.185 | $17.03 less |
| Freetown | Eversource | 14.346 | 17.323 | $17.86 less |
| Marion | Eversource | 14.346 | 17.323 | $17.86 less |
| Mattapoisett | Eversource | 14.346 | 17.323 | $17.86 less |
| New Bedford | Eversource | 14.346 | 17.323 | $17.86 less |
| Rehoboth | National Grid | 14.346 | 17.185 | $17.03 less |
| Rochester | Eversource | 13.700 | 17.323 | $21.74 less |
| Seekonk | National Grid | 14.346 | 17.185 | $17.03 less |
| Somerset | National Grid | 14.346 | 17.185 | $17.03 less |
| Swansea | National Grid | 14.346 | 17.185 | $17.03 less |
| Wareham | Eversource | 14.346 | 17.323 | $17.86 less |
| Westport | Eversource or National Grid | 14.346 | 17.323 or 17.185 | $17.86 or $17.03 less |
| Berkley, Taunton | Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant | No program | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Lakeville | Eversource or Middleborough Gas and Electric | Not among these programs | 17.323 (Eversource) | Not applicable |
Who is enrolled
Massachusetts law sets the programs up with automatic enrollment, so customers on the utility's basic service are signed up unless they opt out, and anyone can leave at any time without a penalty, Fall River's October 2025 enrollment letter says. Budget billing, low-income discounts and solar net metering credits stay in effect, the letter says.
Those 14 masscea.com communities, all but Wareham and Rochester among the 16, share a supplier, Constellation, and a consultant, Good Energy, and most of their pages say the current price includes an administration fee of 0.125 cent per kilowatt-hour. Annual reports for 2025, filed under the state Department of Public Utilities' aggregation rules, are posted for 13 of those 14 and for Rochester. In the 13, an average of 82,911 residential accounts, including low-income accounts, were enrolled in November and December 2025, and 96,082 accounts when businesses are counted. New Bedford's program had 20,605 residential accounts and Fall River's 19,177, followed by Dartmouth with 9,334.
Rochester's report shows an average of 1,666 residential accounts for 2025. Together, the programs with posted reports billed $112.4 million for electricity supply and renewable energy in 2025, and the price included $752,816 in fees for Good Energy, which is also Rochester's consultant.
How 2025 went
The earlier contract fixed the default price at 15.784 cents from December 2023 to November 2025 meter reads in 13 of the 14 masscea.com communities. Fairhaven's default was 16.189 cents. The price started well below the utilities. From January through July 2024, Eversource's residential rate was 17.216 cents, and National Grid's was 18.213 cents from November 2023 through July 2024, so a 600 kilowatt-hour home in a program paid $8.59 a month less than on Eversource and $14.57 less than on National Grid.
Eversource's rate then fell to 15.772 cents for August 2024 through January 2025, about even with the program, and to 13.241 cents from February through July 2025. That left program members paying 2.543 cents more per kilowatt-hour, about $15.26 a month for the same home. From August 2025 until the new price took effect, they paid about $5.40 a month more. In the National Grid communities, the program cost $6.67 a month more from February through July 2025 and $1.80 more from August until the new price. Rochester's 13.7 cent price also ran above Eversource's rate from February through July 2025, by about $2.75 a month.
The 14.346 cent price, 9.1% below the old one, has stayed under National Grid's rate in every period since it took effect: by $6.83 a month through January 2026, $6.16 from February through July and $17.03 now. Against Eversource, it was $3.23 a month lower from November 2025 through January, the last period the programs' 2025 filings cover, and is $17.86 lower now.
The programs say up front that savings are not promised. "Because Eversource prices change frequently and future rates are unknown, future savings cannot be guaranteed," New Bedford's September 2025 renewal letter says. The program pages describe the aim as price stability and "average savings over the full term of the program."
The renewal letters also give each program's own count of savings since it began, measured against the utility's supply cost: $26.6 million in New Bedford since 2016, or $1,200 per average residential customer, $24.8 million in Fall River and $15.6 million in Dartmouth. Across the 13 letters, the programs' figures add up to $127.5 million.
Shopping on your own
None of the private suppliers' fixed-price offers posted on Energy Switch on Oct. 31 beat the town price. Of 33 residential offers listed for New Bedford, the lowest was 14.7 cents for 12 months, for new customers only, and 11 were above Eversource's basic service rate. For Fall River, the lowest of 38 offers was 14.8 cents, also for new customers only, and 22 were above National Grid's rate.
Where the programs do not reach
Taunton and Berkley get their power from the Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant, which also serves part of Dighton, and part of Lakeville is served by the Middleborough Gas and Electric Department. The supply offers on Energy Switch are not available to customers of municipal light plants, the site says. Lakeville is not among the 16 communities with programs.
What happens next
Eversource and National Grid will set new basic service prices for Feb. 1, 2027. Eversource changes its rate every Feb. 1 and Aug. 1, the company said in a November 2024 announcement. The town prices stay fixed until November 2028 meter reads, and Rochester's until December 2027. When a term ends, customers are renewed in their current product, which "may have a higher or lower price," New Bedford's letter says.
For the wider reasons behind high power bills in Massachusetts, see South Coast 360's explainer on energy costs. For Rochester's plan review, see our earlier story.
How to switch or leave
Residents in the 14 masscea.com communities can join, change products or leave by calling the supplier at 833-461-0813 or through their community's page at masscea.com. Wareham's program is at warehamcea.com, and Rochester residents can reach Direct Energy at 866-968-8065. A new enrollment shows up in the supply section of the bill in one to two billing cycles, the program pages say.
How we did it
Program prices, contract dates, suppliers and fees come from each program's own page, read Oct. 31, and from the renewal letters the communities sent in September and October 2025. Enrollment, revenue and consultant fees come from the 2025 annual reports posted for 14 programs. The counts are average accounts, residential and low-income combined, for November and December 2025, and for all of 2025 in Rochester. Current utility rates come from Energy Switch and National Grid's residential basic service table, and Eversource's earlier rates from the communities' annual reports. Monthly differences use 600 kilowatt-hours a month and the supply price alone, and they are our arithmetic, as are the totals.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every price, date, count and dollar figure comes from the records listed: the state's Energy Switch comparison site, National Grid's residential basic service table, each community's program page, the programs' 2025 annual reports, renewal letters and Fall River's enrollment letter, Westport's 2024 annual report and an Eversource rate announcement. We read them on Oct. 31. Monthly differences at 600 kilowatt-hours, the six-month totals, the percentages, the enrollment and revenue totals and the 13-letter savings total are our arithmetic from those records. Savings totals since each program began are the programs' own figures. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. Not heard: no person or office is accused in this story. The programs' stated position on savings is quoted from their own letters and pages.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (12)
- Energy Switch Massachusetts: residential supply comparison by ZIP code for the 19 South Coast communitiesUtility basic service (Eversource 17.323 cents, National Grid 17.185 cents, Aug. 1, 2026, to Jan. 31, 2027), the town program default for each community, private supplier offers, and the municipal light plant notice. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
- National Grid (Massachusetts Electric Company): Basic Service Rates for Customers on Residential rate classesFixed price option by period, November 2023 to January 2027. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
- New Bedford Community Electricity Aggregation program pagePrices starting November 2025, 36 months to November 2028 meter reads, 0.125 cent administration fee, supplier Constellation, consultant Good Energy. The pages for Acushnet, Dartmouth, Dighton, Fairhaven, Fall River, Freetown, Marion, Mattapoisett, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Somerset, Swansea and Westport at masscea.com were read the same day. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
- Wareham Community Electricity Aggregation program pagePricing starting November 2025, 14.346 cents, until November 2028 meter reads. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
- Rochester Community Electricity program pageRochester Standard 13.7 cents, December 2024 until December 2027 meter reads. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
- City of New Bedford, D.P.U. 15-105, 2025 Annual ReportParticipants, kWh, adder revenue, product prices and Eversource basic service for 2025. The 2025 annual reports for Acushnet, Dartmouth, Dighton, Fairhaven, Fall River, Freetown, Marion, Mattapoisett, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Somerset and Swansea, posted June and July 2026 on masscea.com, were read the same day. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
- Town of Rochester, D.P.U. 20-22, 2025 Annual ReportRochester Standard 13.7 cents, supplier Direct Energy, December 2024 until December 2027, participants and adder revenue for January through December 2025. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
- Town of Rochester revised municipal aggregation plan for reviewBids sought at least 90 days before the supply agreement ends; consultant Good Energy; supplier Direct Energy at 866-968-8065. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
- Town of Westport 2024 Annual Report (municipal aggregation)Program price 15.784 cents; Eversource basic service 17.216 cents (January to July 2024) and 15.772 cents (August 2024 to January 2025). Read Oct. 31, 2026.
- New Bedford Community Electricity Aggregation renewal letter, Sept. 29, 2025Old and new prices, Eversource basic service of 14.884 cents for Aug. 1, 2025, to Jan. 31, 2026, savings since 2016, renewal terms. The renewal letters for the other 12 communities with 2025 reports were read the same day. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
- Fall River Community Electricity Aggregation enrollment letter, Oct. 15, 2025Automatic enrollment, opt out without penalty, what stays the same on the bill. Read Oct. 31, 2026.
- Eversource: Basic Service customers to see decrease in electric supply rate, Nov. 22, 2024Supply rate changes every Feb. 1 and Aug. 1; average customer use of 600 kWh a month. Read Oct. 31, 2026.