Massachusetts Energy and Utility Q&A Hour: Third Party Electric Supply (Competitive Supply)

TIME: 10 – 11 AM EST

According to a report from the MA Attorney General’s Office, residential customers who signed up to receive their electricity from a third party electric supplier (competitive supplier) paid nearly $739 million more for their electric service since July 2015 than those who stayed with the rates offered by their utility companies. Last year alone (July 2024 to June 2025), residential customers lost $87.4 million. Even more concerning, low-income customers are frequently pressured to sign up for expensive contracts and are often charged more than non-low-income customers. From July 2024 to June 2025, low-income customers enrolled with competitive suppliers lost an average of $286 annually, compared to $181 lost by non-low-income customers enrolled with competitive suppliers. Also, marketing efforts often impact communities of color and communities with limited English proficiency more than other communities.

For this Q&A, NCLC Stay Connected staff will be joined by Sierra Moll, Energy Consumer Liaison at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. Sierra will start off with a 20-30 minute presentation on third party electric supply (competitive supply) in MA, and then the floor will be opened for questions and comments. The presentation will cover: what competitive energy supply is, what the difference between competitive supply and municipal aggregation is, what to look for to help clients avoid scams, what the AGO can do, and more

Q&A Hours are intended to be less formal opportunities for advocates to learn, ask questions, and share what they are seeing through their work on the ground, which is invaluable to NCLC policy advocacy work. Any questions or comments about energy and utility issues in Massachusetts are welcome; they do not have to be about the topic directly.

SPEAKER: Sierra Moll, Energy Consumer Liaison at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office