Gas System Enhancement Program, or GSEP – is the Commonwealth’s program to encourage gas utilities to excavate and replace hundreds of miles of aging and leaking natural gas pipelines. Basic delivery-related charges on residential gas bills are increasing at double-digit rates – 15% to 20% each year – and utility spending on GSEP and non-GSEP capital projects is largely responsible.
Utilities had claimed that pipeline spending benefits customers, but it actually drives up customer bills while securing profits for shareholders. They continue expanding the gas system, even as Massachusetts targets net-zero emissions by 2050.
This week, the state Department of Public Utilities outlined several changes to the program that it says will save ratepayers money and help reduce carbon emissions, while maintaining safety.
The changes to the GSEP program include:
- reducing the amount of money companies can spend annually and eliminating some interest fees they typically pass onto ratepayers,
- a more rigorous oversight process designed to prioritize the most severe leaks, and
- financial incentives for “non-pipeline alternatives” — such as retiring a stretch of the gas system and installing electric heat pumps in peoples’ homes instead.
With the implementation of these changes, officials project that residents will see up to a 17% decrease in the GSEP surcharge on their monthly bills beginning this year.
Resources:
Massachusetts orders utilities to spend less ratepayer money on natural gas pipelines. WBUR.
DPU squeezing utilities on gas pipe replacement front. WWLP (State House News Service)