State will take the solar charge off electric bills January to March and offer up to $680 to middle-income oil heat households
What the Oct. 5 order changes on South Coast electric bills, who qualifies for the new oil heat benefit and the bigger fuel assistance checks, and where to apply.
SOUTH COAST Residential electric customers on the South Coast will not pay the state's solar program charge on their bills for January through March 2027, and households that heat with oil but earn too much for fuel assistance can get a one-time benefit of up to $680 starting in December, under the energy emergency Gov. Maura Healey declared Oct. 5.
Healey's Executive Order 659, signed in Everett and in effect until April 30, 2027, also adds money to fuel assistance and cuts in half what ratepayers pay for a second charge built into electricity prices. The governor's office put the package at nearly $150 million statewide and said it will lower energy bills for about 85% of ratepayers.
The solar charge comes off for three months
The order directs the state Department of Energy Resources to pay the electric companies so they can drop the "distributed solar charge" line item tied to the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target program, known as SMART, for at least three months this winter. The governor's office said the state will transfer $80 million to cover the charge for January through March 2027 so the cost is not passed on to residential customers. Elsewhere the same release says the $80 million takes the charge off both residential and commercial electric bills. The order has the energy department and the Department of Environmental Protection identify alternative compliance payment funds to help pay for it.
SMART pays incentives to qualifying solar projects and is funded through a charge on electric customers. National Grid's Massachusetts rate sheet bills that charge by the kilowatt-hour, so a home that uses more electricity saves more. Eversource lists New Bedford, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Acushnet, Freetown, Lakeville, Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester, Wareham and Westport among the Massachusetts communities where it delivers electricity.
Gas bills
The order does not change gas charges; its bill relief is on electric bills. Households that heat with gas and get fuel assistance still see more help, since the governor's plan raises benefits 15% for homes heated by a utility.
What Liberty and Eversource gas heating customers would pay from Nov. 1 is in our Oct. 28 story, New Bedford-area gas heating bills would run about $37 a month higher than at last November's rates under Eversource's Nov. 1 proposal.
Up to $680 for oil heat
The new benefit is for households that heat with oil and earn between 60% and 100% of the state median income, middle-class families that the governor's office said have traditionally fallen outside existing heating assistance. For a family of four, that means more than $103,049 and up to $171,749 a year. The low end of the range matches the fuel assistance income limits, which are $53,585 for one person, $70,073 for two and $86,561 for three, and households at or under those limits fall under regular fuel assistance.
About 50,000 oil heat households statewide are expected to qualify for up to $680 each, the governor's office said. The benefit becomes available in December and runs until the heating season ends April 30, 2027, or until the money runs out. It is paid once, and the same local agencies that run fuel assistance will administer it. The state's heating help page is mass.gov/heatinghelp.
Bigger fuel assistance benefits
The plan also adds $15 million to the federally funded Home Energy Assistance Program, known as fuel assistance, which helped more than 156,000 Massachusetts households last winter, the governor's office said. When the order was signed, the governor's office put support at about $525 to $1,200 a household and said it will rise 20% for homes that heat with oil and 15% for homes heated by a utility. The season runs Nov. 1 through April 30, 2027. Renters can qualify, including those whose heat is included in the rent, and households do not need to be on public assistance or behind on their heating bills.
This winter's benefit levels are in our Oct. 24 story, Fuel assistance benefits set at up to $1,450 as heating oil tops $6 a gallon in Massachusetts.
A second charge cut
The order told the energy department to cut what ratepayers pay for the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard by half this winter. The standard, set up in 2009 to support certain large heating and cooling systems, is paid through costs built into electricity supply rates, the governor's office said. The department's emergency rule, in effect since Oct. 7, sets the share of electricity sales suppliers must cover under the standard at 2% for 2027, down from 6.5% in 2026. The department estimates the change saves ratepayers $22 million to $67 million starting in January, while the governor's office had put the savings at about $20 million. In its hearing notice, the department said the lower standard would cut the program's cost 77% between 2027 and 2029 and save ratepayers up to $238 million. It will hold a virtual public hearing on the rule at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13, and takes written comments until 5 p.m. that day at thermal.doer@mass.gov, with "2026 APS RULEMAKING COMMENTS" in the subject line.
Where to apply
PACE runs fuel assistance for New Bedford, Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester from 255 Union St. in New Bedford. New applicants can apply online starting Nov. 1 at toapply.org/PACE, and the phone line is 508-525-4271.
Citizens for Citizens serves Fall River, Freetown and Assonet, Somerset, Swansea, Westport, Rehoboth, Dighton, Seekonk, Taunton, Berkley and Lakeville from offices at 250 Griffin St. in Fall River and 1 Taunton Green in Taunton. It takes applications through an online portal or in person by appointment, made by calling 508-679-0041 for Greater Fall River or 508-823-6346 for Greater Taunton or by emailing fuelmail@cfcinc.org.
Wareham residents and others outside those areas can find their agency in the MASSCAP directory at masscap.org/heatinghelpma. Citizens Energy Corporation, whose president is former U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, also started an Emergency Winter Warmth Fund with $100,000 to add to both fuel assistance and the new oil heat benefit through the same local agencies, with details at citizensenergy.com/warmth.
Price gouging
Declaring the emergency also turns on the state's legal protections against price gouging on petroleum products, and the order tells state agencies to take complaints about, investigate and enforce rules against excessive or misleading prices. It also has the Department of Public Utilities review what net metering costs ratepayers and the Department of Environmental Protection review its carbon rules for in-state power plants.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every fact comes from public records. Executive Order 659 and the Department of Energy Resources' emergency rule come from the Massachusetts Register of Oct. 23 and the governor's Oct. 5 release, both read in the State Library of Massachusetts' copies. The rest comes from Eversource's list of the communities it serves, National Grid's Massachusetts rate sheet, and the MASSCAP, PACE and Citizens for Citizens pages. We read them on Oct. 29. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. Statewide dollar figures and household counts are the governor's office's and the energy department's estimates. We are asking the governor's office, the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, Eversource and National Grid how households apply for the oil heat benefit in December, whether business accounts also lose the solar charge and how the charge will show on January to March bills, and will add their replies. 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 (7)
- Massachusetts Register No. 1585 (Secretary of the Commonwealth), State Library of Massachusetts copy: Executive Order No. 659, Proclaiming an Energy Emergency and Providing Immediate Home Energy Assistance and Relief on Energy Bills During the Winter Months, and the Department of Energy Resources emergency rule 225 CMR 16.00, Alternative Energy Portfolio StandardIssue dated Oct. 23, 2026. Order given in Everett Oct. 5, 2026, in effect until April 30, 2027 (Register pp. 5 to 8). Emergency rule effective Oct. 7, 2026, with the emergency basis (savings of $22 million to $67 million from January), the 2027 minimum standard of 2.00% against 6.50% for 2026, and the hearing notice (virtual hearing Nov. 13, 2026, at 10 a.m., written comments until 5 p.m.; a 77% cost cut between 2027 and 2029, up to $238 million). Read Oct. 29, 2026.
- Office of the Governor: Governor Healey Announces New Winter Energy Bill Relief for Massachusetts Families (press release), State Library of Massachusetts copyDated Oct. 5, 2026; same release as posted at https://www.mass.gov/news/governor-healey-announces-new-winter-energy-bill-relief-for-massachusetts-families. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
- Eversource: Communities We Serve (Massachusetts, Electric)Read Oct. 29, 2026.
- National Grid (Massachusetts Electric Company): Summary of Electric Delivery Service Rates, M.D.P.U. No. 1-26-DEffective March 1, 2026; the Distributed Solar (SMART) Charge is billed per kWh. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
- MASSCAP: Heating Help in MassachusettsProgram Nov. 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027; income limit 60% of estimated state median income and the income table; new help for middle income (60 to 100% of state median income, oil heat only); statewide agency directory. Read Oct. 29, 2026.
- PACE: Home Energy Assistance Program 2026-2027Read Oct. 29, 2026.
- Citizens for Citizens: Fuel Assistance Program (HEAP)Read Oct. 29, 2026.