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Reported by us | South Coast

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

What Liberty, NSTAR Gas and Eversource Gas Company of Massachusetts heating customers would pay from Nov. 1, what changed since last winter, and where to get help with the bill.

By the SC360 Business and Real Estate Desk | Published Oct. 28, 2026 | Last verified Oct. 28, 2026, 7:40 p.m. ET

SOUTH COAST A typical Eversource gas heating customer in New Bedford and the towns around it would pay about $37 a month more this winter than at the rates set a year ago, under charges the company has asked state regulators to approve for Sunday, Nov. 1. In Fall River, Liberty customers go into their first winter on the higher base rates the state approved in March, while Liberty's proposed charge for the gas itself sits below last winter's average.

NSTAR Gas, the Eversource company that serves New Bedford, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Acushnet, Mattapoisett, Marion and Rochester on Eversource's service map, figures its typical residential heating customer uses 698 therms from November through April. At the proposed rates, those six bills would total $2,146.25, up $220.67, or 11.5%, from $1,925.58 at the rates set on Nov. 1, 2025, the company estimated in its Sept. 17 filing with the Department of Public Utilities.

The gas itself would cost less. NSTAR Gas proposed a gas charge of $0.8644 a therm for Nov. 1 through April 30, down from $0.8944 last Nov. 1 and from the $1.0319 it averaged last winter after midseason increases, which the company said saves its typical heating customer $19.48 a month on gas. The increase is in delivery: the base distribution charge, $1.0044 a therm last November, rose to $1.2080 by February and would be $1.2004 this winter, and two gas system enhancement charges that were zero last November would add about 27 cents a therm, partly offset by an energy efficiency surcharge that would drop from 41.7 cents to 32.99 cents.

Eversource also offered regulators a choice that would move half of its energy efficiency and residential assistance costs into summer 2027. Measured against last winter's delivery charges, the typical winter bill would then be $5 a month lower instead of $18.10 higher, while the summer bill would rise $24.44 a month, the department's notice says. NSTAR Gas heating customers also get bill credits in January, February and March under a settlement the department approved Jan. 16; Eversource estimated them at $30, $30 and $25 in an Oct. 23 answer to the department and will collect the cost next summer, without carrying charges.

Taunton area

Eversource Gas Company of Massachusetts, which serves Taunton, Raynham, Dighton, Berkley, Lakeville, Rehoboth and Seekonk on Eversource's map, proposed a winter gas charge of $0.9447 a therm for residential heating, below last winter's $1.1089 average. Against all the rates set last Nov. 1, its comparison puts the typical heating bill 87 cents a month lower. Under its summer alternative, the typical winter bill would be $26.65 a month below last winter's delivery charges, instead of 73 cents above them, and the summer bill would rise $33.35, and the company told the department on Oct. 23 that it has not proposed winter bill credits for January and February 2027.

Fall River area

Liberty serves about 60,800 gas customers in Fall River, Somerset, Swansea, Westport, North Attleborough, Plainville, Blackstone, Bellingham and Wrentham. On March 27 the department approved a settlement among Liberty, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell's office, low-income advocates including Citizens for Citizens, and the Conservation Law Foundation that gives Liberty $45.3 million in added revenue, down from the $55.9 million it sought. Its last base rate increase came in 2016, and the new rates apply to gas used since April 1.

For a residential heating customer, the monthly customer charge went from $11.80 to $13 and the winter delivery charge from 45.61 cents a therm to $1.1771, as the settlement moved costs once billed through separate charges, including pensions and gas system enhancement investments, into base rates. Liberty estimated, in figures filed with the settlement, that its average residential heating customer would pay $218.56 more a year, or 14.5%, about $18 a month; the attorney general's office took no position on those calculations.

Liberty's proposed winter gas charge for Fall River and North Attleborough is $0.9120 a therm, up from 62.83 cents at the start of last winter but below the $1.3188 it reached in April. Against last winter's average, Liberty said, its average heating customer, using 739 therms over the six months, would pay $18.96 a month less for gas, or 4.9%. "The cost of gas is a straight pass through cost in which Liberty makes no profit," reads the bill message the company proposed for November.

The settlement also gives Liberty's residential heating customers a $20 credit on their January and February bills starting in 2027, recovered from customers in the off-peak months without carrying charges, and Liberty's shareholders pay $250,000 to the attorney general's office for programs that help its customers with gas bills. Liberty agreed not to raise base rates again before Nov. 1, 2029, apart from adjustments the settlement allows, including rate base resets on July 1, 2027, and July 1, 2028.

By Nov. 1, Liberty must also move to the state's new six-tier discount for income-eligible customers. Its bill tables model discounts from 43% to 93%, and the settlement lets customers qualify themselves for the discount rate.

Rates can move midwinter

None of the Nov. 1 charges is final until the department rules. In a Sept. 9 memo, it told the gas companies to expect smaller, more frequent changes this winter: they will have to file updated gas charges when their projected gas cost balance drifts more than 3% of the season's costs, instead of the usual 5%, to avoid larger increases in the middle of a cold winter.

Where to get help

Fuel assistance, the state's Home Energy Assistance Program, runs Nov. 1 through April 30 for households with income up to 60% of the estimated state median, and its clients also get gas and electric discounts, MASSCAP says. PACE takes applications for New Bedford, Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester at toapply.org/PACE starting Nov. 1, with phone help at 508-525-4271. Citizens for Citizens in Fall River takes applications online and runs a 24-hour status line, 508-676-7397, and other towns' agencies are listed at masscap.org/heatinghelpma.

Benefit amounts and income limits are in our Oct. 24 story, Fuel assistance benefits set at up to $1,450 as heating oil tops $6 a gallon in Massachusetts.

Liberty and Eversource also offer budget billing. Liberty's levelized plan recalculates the payment each month from a rolling 12-month history, so there is no settle-up; customers sign up through My Account or at 1-800-544-4944. Eversource divides a year's use into level monthly payments for customers with at least 12 months of heating service at their address and an account in good standing.

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. 25-85, 26-PGAF-LIB, 26-PGAF-NSTAR and 26-PGAF-EGMA (the March 27 order, the settlement exhibits, the April compliance filings and tariffs, the Sept. 17 gas adjustment filings, the department's notices and Sept. 9 memo, and the companies' Oct. 23 answers), Eversource's service map, and the MASSCAP, PACE, Citizens for Citizens, Liberty and Eversource pages. We read them on Oct. 28. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. Liberty's April 2026 gas charge of $1.3188 is our arithmetic from the change its filing states; the 27-cent figure adds NSTAR Gas's two enhancement charges. Bill figures are the companies' own estimates for their typical customers, and the Nov. 1 charges await the department's approval. We are asking Liberty and Eversource for comment 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 (16)

  1. D.P.U. 25-85: Liberty Utilities (New England Natural Gas Company) Corp. d/b/a Liberty, Order on Proposed Settlement (Department of Public Utilities file room)Order dated March 27, 2026 (attachment 395521): $45.3 million approved against $55,893,131 sought; last increase 2016; about 60,815 customers in Fall River, North Attleboro, Plainville, Swansea, Somerset, Westport, Blackstone, Bellingham and Wrentham; rates for gas consumed on and after April 1, 2026; $20 January and February credits starting 2027; $250,000 shareholder payment; freeze to Nov. 1, 2029; six-tier discount by Nov. 1, 2026; self-qualification. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
  2. D.P.U. 25-85: Revised Compliance Filing, April 9, 2026, and Stamp Approval, April 10, 2026Attachments 397545 (compliance letter) and 397804 (stamped approval); revised R-3 tariff M.D.P.U. No. 1005H (attachment 397375, filed April 8, 2026) and the April 1 redline (attachment 396137): customer charge $11.80 to $13.00, peak distribution charge $0.4561 to $1.1771 per therm. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
  3. D.P.U. 25-85: Settlement Agreement, Explanatory Statement and Exhibit Settlement-1(d), Fall River and North Attleboro bill impactsFiled Jan. 30, 2026 (attachments 386453, 386454, 386458): R-3 average annual total bill $1,509.96 to $1,728.52, up $218.56 (14.47%), $18.21 a month; footnote 3, the attorney general takes no position on the accuracy of the company's calculations. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
  4. D.P.U. 26-PGAF-LIB: Liberty 2026-2027 Peak Gas Adjustment Factor filing, Fall River and North Attleboro (and LDAF plain language summary)Filed Sept. 17, 2026 (attachment 416948; 412222 filed Aug. 3): proposed peak GAF $0.9120 per therm Nov. 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027; up $0.2837 from Nov. 1, 2025, down $0.3385 from the March 1 and $0.4068 from the April 2026 interim GAFs; R-3 customer using 739 therms, average decrease $18.96 (4.90%) a month against the 2025 average peak GAFs; proposed bill message; tiered discount tables. Docket open, no order as of Oct. 28. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
  5. D.P.U. 26-PGAF-NSTAR: NSTAR Gas Company d/b/a Eversource Energy 2026-2027 Peak Seasonal Cost of Gas Adjustment, cover letter and Section II(c) bill comparisonFiled Sept. 17, 2026 (attachments 416957, 416959, 416961): proposed peak GAF $0.8644; 2025-2026 GAFs $0.8944, $0.9477, $1.2269, average $1.0319; typical R-3 698 peak therms, peak bills $1,925.58 current to $2,146.25 proposed, up $220.67 (11.5%), $36.78 a month; $19.48 a month less against the average peak GAF. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
  6. D.P.U. 26-PGAF-NSTAR: Notice of Filing and Request for Comments (Department of Public Utilities)Dated Aug. 28, 2026 (attachment 414527): proposed LDAFs, typical heating customer up $18.10 (5.4%) a winter month; alternative, winter down $5.00 (1.5%), summer up $24.44 (25.2%). Read Oct. 28, 2026.
  7. D.P.U. 26-PGAF-NSTAR: Response to Information Request DPU-3-1 and Attachment DPU-3-1Filed Oct. 23, 2026 (attachments 420316, 420317): bill credits for R-3 and R-4 customers in January, February and March under D.P.U. 24-134-B/25-53-A (Jan. 16, 2026), estimated at $30, $30 and $25; recovered May 1 to Oct. 31 with no carrying charges. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
  8. D.P.U. 26-PGAF-EGMA: Eversource Gas Company of Massachusetts 2026-2027 Peak Seasonal Cost of Gas Adjustment Clause filing letter and plain language summaryFiled Sept. 17, 2026 (attachments 416962, 416966): proposed peak GAF $0.9447 for low load factor classes including residential heat; 2025-2026 GAFs $0.9832 and $1.3603, average $1.1089; typical residential heating customer down $20.77 (5.8%) against the average GAF and down $0.87 (0.3%) all in against rates established Nov. 1, 2025. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
  9. D.P.U. 26-PGAF-EGMA: Notice of Filing (Aug. 28, 2026) and Response to Information Request DPU-4-1 (Oct. 23, 2026)Attachments 414528 and 420312: alternative LDAF, winter down $26.65 (7.5%), summer up $33.35 (35.1%); the company has not proposed winter bill credits for January and February 2027. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
  10. Department of Public Utilities Hearing Officer Memorandum: Winter 2026/2027 Peak Cost of Gas Adjustment FactorsDated Sept. 9, 2026 (attachment 415975, filed in all six 26-PGAF dockets): amended GAFs on a three percent threshold instead of five percent for the 2026/2027 winter. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
  11. Eversource: Service Territory, and its map of Massachusetts gas towns by operating companyMap image ma-gas-towns-by-opco.png: NSTAR Gas towns include New Bedford, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Acushnet, Mattapoisett, Marion and Rochester; EGMA towns include Taunton, Raynham, Dighton, Berkley, Lakeville, Rehoboth and Seekonk. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
  12. MASSCAP: Heating Help in MassachusettsProgram runs Nov. 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027; income cannot exceed 60% of estimated state median income; clients also receive discounts including electric and gas discounts; statewide agency directory. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
  13. PACE: Home Energy Assistance Program 2026-2027Serves New Bedford, Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester; online applications at toapply.org/PACE from Nov. 1; phone 508-525-4271. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
  14. Citizens for Citizens: Fuel Assistance Program (HEAP)Apply online; 24/7 status hotline 508-676-7397. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
  15. Liberty: Budget Billing, Residential, Massachusetts GasLevelized Budget Billing recalculated monthly on a rolling 12-month history, no settle-up; enroll in My Account or at 1-800-544-4944. Read Oct. 28, 2026.
  16. Eversource: Budget BillingLevel monthly payments; at least 12 months of heating service at the current address and an account in good standing. Read Oct. 28, 2026.

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