Maintenance and Infrastructure Investment

This is our core business – safely and reliably getting natural gas to your home.

This section also includes the cost of skilled employees who operate and maintain the local gas distribution system and provide customer service, as well as the cost of improvements to make the system more resilient and reliable.

These total costs are driven by how much gas you use, so the resulting cost will vary from month to month.

The line items you will see in this category, in order, are:

• Customer Charge - The Customer Charge line item is a fixed monthly charge that recovers fixed costs of the gas distribution system, including meters, mains and services. Also included are customer account and customer service expenses.
• Distribution Charge - Costs related to delivering natural gas through our pipeline system and maintaining a safe and reliable system.
• Revenue Decoupling Charge - A charge or credit applied that balances how much revenue was collected with how much regulators allow the company to make.
• Distribution Adjustment Charge – A charge that includes various smaller charges related to remediation for environmental response and ensuring sufficient supply.
• Gas System Enhancement Program - Recovers the cost associated with the replacement or improvement of existing natural gas distribution infrastructure to improve public safety or infrastructure reliability. These investments not only reduce environmental impacts, but also lower long-term costs by preventing emergency repairs and avoiding costly unplanned work.

 Public Benefits

This section of your bill includes the costs of programs, including energy efficiency and payment assistance, that provide value to you and the state by helping reduce energy usage and enabling you to better manage your monthly bills, among other benefits.

Through these charges you're paying to fund these programs, so we encourage you to take advantage of what's available.

The line items you will see in this category, in order, are:

• Energy Efficiency Charge - Recovers the cost of energy efficiency program costs such as the Mass Save® programs we offer.
• Residential Assistance Charge – Recovers the cost of bill discounts to eligible customers, plus costs associated with the arrearage management program.

Your Supply Cost

The Supply charge on your bill is the cost of the natural gas itself. This is a pass-through cost that we do not make a profit from. What we pay, you pay.

All Massachusetts customers have the option of choosing another gas supplier if you find one with a lower rate.

How we determine the supply rate

The supply rate is driven by the market price of natural gas. The supply price typically changes twice each year—on May 1 and November 1— to reflect the seasonal cost of gas.

Supply prices may also change if market prices result in a cost deviation exceeding 5%. This is done to minimize the potential for future price shock.