Mass. DPU Requires Revisions to Gas Line Extension Policies

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities has directed the state’s gas distribution companies to revise their line extension policies and require new customers to cover the cost of new hookups, with limited exceptions.

Issued on Aug. 8, the order is poised to end the longstanding utility practice of charging to the rate base the costs of connecting new gas customers. The practice assumes the new customers will eventually pay back these costs through distribution fees (20-80-E).

“This order is another great step in the right direction toward an orderly transition off of the natural gas system,” said Kyle Murray, Massachusetts program director at the Acadia Center. “It also shows that the natural gas system has traditionally only been able to expand thanks to massive subsidies from existing ratepayers. This order is simply removing that subsidy and requiring natural gas to compete on an even playing field.”

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