Dirty fuel powered Massachusetts electric heat pump surge this winter

NEEDHAM, Mass. — Massachusetts has spent years encouraging homeowners to switch to electric heat, arguing that heat pumps are a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels. But during this winter’s prolonged cold snap, the electricity powering many of those systems came increasingly from oil-fired power plants, highlighting the challenges facing New England’s energy transition and the limits of the regional grid.

Clean energy advocates, however, said the system performed as designed.

“It was an example of the system working exactly as it should have,” said Joe LaRusso, senior advocate at the Acadia Center, a nonprofit that promotes cleaner energy across New England.

LaRusso acknowledged that oil remains part of the region’s backup strategy during extreme conditions, but said it should be viewed in a longer-term context.

“We’re in a transitional phase, and we are not going to be able to snap our fingers and make oil go away,” he said. “Last year in 2025, oil generation accounted for 1% of all of the electricity that was generated here in the region.”

LaRusso also argued the grid still has the capacity to absorb more electric heating demand. He noted that New England’s peak winter electricity record was set in 2002 and has not yet been surpassed.

For now, this winter’s cold snap offered a reminder that the region’s shift to cleaner heating is colliding with the limits of its current electric system.

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