Skip to the story | Text edition home | Full site

Reported by us | Fall River

Typical National Grid electric bill rises $9.46 a month in the Fall River area as bigger income discounts begin Nov. 1

State regulators approved the charge Oct. 30. On Nov. 1, income-based discounts of up to 91% at National Grid and 92% at Eversource also begin for households that qualify.

By the SC360 Business and Real Estate Desk | Published Nov. 1, 2026 | Last verified Nov. 1, 2026, 5:12 a.m. ET

FALL RIVER National Grid electric customers in Fall River, Somerset, Swansea, Rehoboth and parts of Dighton and Westport pay more starting Sunday, Nov. 1, to cover a statewide expansion of income-based bill discounts that starts the same day. For a typical home using 600 kilowatt-hours a month, the company figures the change adds $9.46, taking the bill from $247.07 to $256.53, an increase of 3.8%.

The state Department of Public Utilities approved the charge Friday, Oct. 30, for electricity used from Nov. 1 through Feb. 28. In a letter order, the department said the bill impacts are "within the range of what is reasonable under the circumstances and do not violate the goal of rate continuity." It approved the rates subject to its ongoing investigation and a later reconciliation.

What changes on the bill

The increase is in the residential assistance adjustment factor, a charge per kilowatt-hour that pays for the discount rate. For regular residential customers it goes from 2.389 cents to 3.965 cents. Small commercial customers on National Grid's G-1 rate pay 3.039 cents, up from 1.779 cents.

The charge sits in the distribution rate on the summary of rates the department approved Oct. 30, and the company applies it to every customer class except the discount rate. In the company's typical bill, the whole increase lands on delivery charges, which rise from $143.96 to $153.42 while supply stays at $103.11. National Grid sets and bills those delivery charges even for homes that buy power through a town electricity program or another supplier, so they pay the higher charge too.

National Grid expects to collect about $177.6 million through the charge from November through February, its Aug. 27 filing says. It put the discount program's cost for the year that began in March at about $309.6 million, and it said the new tiers raise the average discount it expects to give from 53.4% to 63.4%.

National Grid's fixed basic service supply price for homes stays at 17.185 cents a kilowatt-hour through Jan. 31. Homes on its monthly variable price pay 16.204 cents for November usage, up from 15.615 cents in October. Customers who enroll in National Grid's heat pump rate, open to homes that use a heat pump for winter space heating, get a lower transmission charge from Nov. 1 through April 30, which the company estimated in June would yield about 9% monthly savings against the standard transmission charge through February.

Town electricity programs set their own supply price; they are compared in our Oct. 31 story, Town electricity programs now save a typical South Coast home $17 to $18 a month, after costing more in 2025.

The new discount tiers

Households on National Grid's income-eligible rate, R-2, stop paying the assistance charge and move to six discount tiers set by household income. The discount comes off the whole bill: 91% for households at or below the federal poverty level, then 69%, 62%, 56% and 49% in steps up to twice the poverty level, and 32% above that up to 60% of the state median income, a top-income discount that drops to 29% on May 1. National Grid's discounts had run from 32% to 71%, and the company told regulators the change lowers discount customers' bills by about 5% to 71%, depending on the tier.

A discount customer whose household income is not known starts in the 32% tier. National Grid told regulators Oct. 28 that electric customers can apply online, by mail, by phone or in person, that customers who declare their own eligibility start at the lowest discount, and that households whose income a community action agency verifies are placed in the tier the agency assigns.

Eversource customers

Eversource, which delivers electricity in New Bedford, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Acushnet, Freetown, Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester, Wareham and part of Westport, moves its discount customers to six tiers the same day under tariffs the department approved Oct. 27. Its discount for homes not mainly heated with electricity runs from 89% at or below the poverty level to 25% in the highest income tier, replacing the 42% discount it gave before. A customer whose new tier is below 42% keeps 42% through April 30, then steps down no more than five percentage points every six months. For electric heat customers, the tiers run from 92% to 40%.

Eversource estimated in a June filing that the bigger discounts would cost its average eastern Massachusetts residential customer who is not on the discount about $1.64 a month, or 0.9%, and a customer on its residential heating rate about $2.29, also 0.9%. Since Sept. 24, Eversource customers have been able to apply for the discount online and are enrolled for 60 days while eligibility is confirmed through state records, a community action agency or proof of benefits, the company told regulators Oct. 16.

Liberty and Eversource gas customers also saw new winter gas charges, and six-tier discounts for income-eligible households, begin Nov. 1, covered in our story State approves winter gas charges for Liberty and Eversource customers starting Nov. 1. Citizens for Citizens says the Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant does not currently offer discounts for fuel assistance households; the plant's bills are compared in A Taunton light plant home using 600 kilowatt-hours pays about half what Eversource and National Grid customers nearby pay.

How to get the discount

National Grid's tariff makes the discount available to households that show they receive a means-tested public benefit or that qualify for the state's Home Energy Assistance Program, known as fuel assistance. Fuel assistance runs Nov. 1 through April 30 for households with income up to $103,049 for a family of four, and Citizens for Citizens says it automatically enrolls approved households in utility discounts.

Citizens for Citizens serves Fall River, Somerset, Swansea, Westport, Rehoboth, Dighton, Freetown, Seekonk, Taunton, Berkley and Lakeville. It takes applications through an online portal or by appointment at 508-679-0041 in Fall River or 508-823-6346 in Taunton, and its status line is 508-676-7397. PACE serves New Bedford, Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester; new applicants can apply online at toapply.org/PACE starting Nov. 1, and its number is 508-525-4271. Households in other towns can find their agency at masscap.org/heatinghelpma, the statewide directory PACE links from its page.

Households behind on a bill also have winter shutoff protection, explained in Winter heat shutoff protection runs Nov. 15 to March 15: who qualifies on the South Coast and how to claim it.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.

Notes

Every fact comes from public records: the Department of Public Utilities file room dockets D.P.U. 26-02, 26-BSF-D3, 26-132, 26-131, 26-71 and 24-15 (the Oct. 30 letter order, the Aug. 27 interim filing and its typical bill exhibit, the Nov. 1 summary of rates approved Oct. 30, the tariffs approved Oct. 27 and the companies' compliance filings), National Grid's residential basic service rate table, the state's Energy Switch lookup of utilities by ZIP code, and the Citizens for Citizens and PACE fuel assistance pages, all read on Nov. 1. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar, and the bill figures are the companies' own estimates. Comment is being requested from National Grid and Eversource and will be added when it comes in. No other news outlet is a source for this story.

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)

  1. D.P.U. 26-02: Letter order on National Grid interim residential assistance adjustment factors (Department of Public Utilities)Letter order dated Oct. 30, 2026, filed 4:54 p.m. (attachment 420935): R-1 RAAF $0.03965 a kWh, R-2 $0.00, G-1 $0.03039, Nov. 1, 2026 to Feb. 28, 2027; $9.46, 3.8% for a typical R-1 customer at 600 kWh; approved subject to ongoing investigation and reconciliation. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  2. D.P.U. 26-02: National Grid interim RAAF filing, testimony and Exhibit CC-3 typical billsFiled Aug. 27, 2026 (attachments 414417 and 414419): about $177.6 million to recover Nov. 1 to Feb. 28; about $309.6 million rate year program cost; $75.8 million arrearage management and prior period; weighted average discount 53.4% to 63.4%; R-1 RAAF 2.389 to 3.965 cents; G-1 1.779 to 3.039 cents; 600 kWh bill $247.07 to $256.53 (delivery $143.96 to $153.42, basic service $103.11 unchanged); applied to all classes except R-2; R-2 bill decreases about 5% to 71%; discount tiers before 32% to 71%. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  3. D.P.U. 26-BSF-D3: Massachusetts Electric Company summary of rates, M.D.P.U. No. 1-26-J, effective Nov. 1, 2026, and cover letterCover letter Oct. 20, 2026 (attachment 420002); summary stamp approved Oct. 30, 2026 (attachment 420936): RAAF within the net distribution rate; residential heat pump transmission charge Nov. 1 to April 30; tiered income-eligible discounts 32%, 49%, 56%, 62%, 69% and 91%. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  4. D.P.U. 26-132: National Grid residential tiered discount rate compliance tariffs (M.D.P.U. No. 1652, Rate R-2)Tariffs filed Oct. 15, 2026 (attachment 419461); compliance tariffs stamp approved Oct. 27, 2026 (attachment 420417): eligibility by means-tested benefit or HEAP; tiers 91%, 69%, 62%, 56%, 49%, 32% (29% from May 1, 2027); unknown income defaults to tier 6. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  5. D.P.U. 26-131: Eversource residential tiered discount rate compliance tariffs (NSTAR Electric Rates R-2 and R-4)Corrected tariffs filed Oct. 23, 2026 (attachment 420272), stamp approved Oct. 27, 2026 (attachment 420416): R-2 tiers 89%, 63%, 55%, 47%, 38%, 25%; R-4 92% to 40%; customers below the prior 42% kept at 42% Nov. 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027, then reductions of no more than five points every six months; effective Nov. 1, 2026. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  6. D.P.U. 24-15: Eversource second and fourth compliance filings; National Grid implementation updateEversource June 16, 2026 (attachment 407817): NSTAR Electric average monthly bill impact per non-low-income residential customer, R-1 $1.64, 0.9%, R-3 heating $2.29, 0.9%, eastern Massachusetts; Eversource Oct. 16, 2026 (attachment 419558): online form since Sept. 24, 2026, 60 day temporary enrollment; National Grid Oct. 28, 2026 (attachment 420680): online, mail, phone and in-person applications for electric, self-attesting customers enrolled at the lowest discount, CAA-assigned tiers. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  7. D.P.U. 26-71: National Grid residential seasonal heat pump rate compliance filingPlain language summary filed June 15, 2026 (attachment 407419): about 9% monthly savings against standard transmission rates through February 2027; compliance filing stamp approved July 29, 2026 (attachment 411629): heat pump rate subject to enrollment, devices used for winter space heating. R-2 heat pump opt-in language in the D.P.U. 26-132 tariff. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  8. National Grid: Basic service rates for residential customers, Massachusetts Electric CompanyFixed price 17.185 cents a kWh, Aug. 1, 2026 to Jan. 31, 2027; variable price 15.615 cents for October and 16.204 cents for November usage. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  9. South Coast 360: Town electricity programs now save a typical South Coast home $17 to $18 a month (Oct. 31, 2026)Eversource and National Grid still deliver the power, send the bill and set the delivery charges for homes in town electricity programs. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  10. Massachusetts Energy Switch: distribution company by ZIP codeNational Grid for Fall River, Somerset, Swansea and Rehoboth; National Grid or TMLP in Dighton; National Grid or Eversource in Westport; Eversource for New Bedford, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Acushnet, Freetown, Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester and Wareham. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  11. Citizens for Citizens: Fuel Assistance Program (HEAP)Service area, income limits, phone numbers, automatic enrollment in utility discounts, TMLP note. Read Nov. 1, 2026.
  12. PACE: Home Energy Assistance ProgramService area, online applications from Nov. 1, phone 508-525-4271, season Nov. 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027. Read Nov. 1, 2026.

This story on the full site