A new rate option is available for residential electric customers in Massachusetts

If you use a heat pump to heat all or part of your home, you can take advantage of a new, reduced distribution and transmission rate during the winter months (Nov. 1 to April 30) to help you save on your winter electric bill.

Who Qualifies?

If you received a Mass Save® rebate via your Eversource electric account for a heat pump you installed after Jan. 1, 2019, you will be automatically enrolled on this rate beginning Nov. 1, 2025. If this applies to you, you will be notified of your enrollment on the Heat Pump Rate prior to Nov. 1.

If you didn’t receive a rebate from the Sponsors of Mass Save or if you installed your heat pump prior to Jan. 1, 2019, you can apply below.

Customers using electric resistance heat via baseboards, space heaters or furnaces do not qualify for the heat pump rate. You can find an illustrative guide to help determine whether or not your system is a heat pump on masssave.com.

• Municipal aggregation and third-party supplier customers - If you are a municipal aggregator or enrolled with a third-party supplier you can also receive the rate. The rate is on the delivery side of the electric bill, not the supply side.
• Customers who need bill assistance - If you are currently on the R-2 Residential Assistance Rate and have a heat pump, you are eligible for the R-2 Heat Pump Rate, which provides the same discount you receive on the R-2 electric rate.
• Solar and net metering customers - A customer that has solar or is net metered can participate in the heat pump rate. A solar net metering customer may not experience as large an overall bill reduction as a non-solar customer by participating in a heat pump rate because they are already reducing their utility charges with onsite generation, but participation in a heat pump rate will still reduce their remaining charges for net energy consumption.

How Does the Rate Work?

The Heat Pump Rate is a lower distribution and transmission rate per kWh in the winter months than the standard rate for residential customers. The table below is an example of how a current heat pump customer using an average of 1670 kWh per month during the winter could save on their bill with the new rate.

During the summer months (May – October), heat pump customers will pay the Standard Residential Rate, the same rate that all non-heat pump customers pay.

*The seasonal heat pump rate shown above will be adjusted on January 1. That specific rate and the bill impact is still being determined.