Massachusetts electricity rates
As of May 2026, the average residential electricity rate in Massachusetts is 28.82 cents per kilowatt-hour, 56.3% above the U.S. average of 18.44¢. That is the 5th highest rate of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
- Year over year
- ▼ -3.6% from 29.90¢ in May 2025
- Vs. U.S. average
- +56.3% U.S. average 18.44¢
- National rank
- #5 of 51 · #47 cheapest
- Supply market
- ISO New England Retail choice statewide
Why Massachusetts pays what it pays
It is easy to blame Massachusetts rates on the price of power. The larger share of the story is the delivery side. The state runs an ambitious set of programmes through the electric bill: energy efficiency through Mass Save, solar incentive recovery, storm and grid resilience investment, and low-income discount subsidies. Each is a line item on delivery, and delivery has been growing faster than supply for several years.
The supply side still matters in winter. Massachusetts sits at the end of the same constrained pipeline network as the rest of New England, and the region's marginal generator is usually gas. Basic-service supply prices are procured twice a year, so the winter rate and the summer rate can differ by a wide margin even when nothing about the underlying market has changed.
The state is also a large offshore-wind buyer. Those contracts are long-dated and their costs enter rates gradually, which affects the trajectory more than the current figure.
Where Massachusetts power comes from
Massachusetts generated 23 TWh in 2025, the 41th largest output of any state. Natural gas supplied 77.3% of it, enough that the price of that fuel largely sets the price of electricity here. Renewables accounted for 15.8%, against 23.8% nationally, which ranks Massachusetts #28 of 51.
- Natural gas 77.3% 18 TWh
- Solar 11% 3 TWh
- Hydroelectric 3.6% 827 GWh
- Petroleum 1.7% 402 GWh
- Wind 0.9% 210 GWh
- Other 5.2% 1 TWh
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Operational Data, net generation, all sectors. Net generation across all sectors. Nuclear counts as carbon-free but not renewable, so the two shares differ.
How Massachusetts compares
Massachusetts ranks #5 of 51 jurisdictions by residential price, making it the 47th cheapest. Within the New England division, 4 of 5 neighbouring states are cheaper.
| State | ¢/kWh | YoY | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont | 24.89 | +4.8% | #11 |
| New Hampshire | 27.33 | +13.8% | #9 |
| Connecticut | 27.37 | -13.4% | #8 |
| Maine | 28.63 | +2.6% | #6 |
| Massachusetts | 28.82 | -3.6% | #5 |
| Rhode Island | 29.46 | +1.6% | #4 |
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A: Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State. Data period May 2026. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
What Massachusetts households actually pay
Massachusetts looks cheaper on paper than it is in practice. It has the 47th cheapest rate in the country but only the 5th highest bill from the bottom, because households there use 603 kWh a month against a national average of 871. See how every state compares on bills.
Estimate your Massachusetts bill
Multiply your own usage by the May 2026 state average. Enter the kilowatt-hours from your last statement. This is a supply-and-delivery blended average, not a utility quote.
Rate used: …. U.S. average 18.44¢/kWh, May 2026. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A.
Heating in Massachusetts: gas, heat pump or resistance
Residential natural gas in Massachusetts averaged $21.90 per thousand cubic feet in 2024, about $2.11 per therm, against a national average of $14.50. Put on the same scale as the state's electricity rate, the cost of delivering one million BTU of heat works out as follows.
In Massachusetts, gas remains cheaper to run than a heat pump by about $4.68 per million BTU at these assumptions, roughly $281 over a 60 million BTU season. A heat pump can still be the better purchase once cooling, equipment age and incentives are counted, but not on heating cost alone.
Gas price: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Natural Gas Prices, price delivered to residential consumers, 2024. Assumptions are adjustable in the heating cost guide, and every state is compared on the gas price page.
What each Massachusetts utility charges
The statewide average hides a wide spread. Across the 26 Massachusetts utilities reporting to the EIA, rates run from 13.39¢ at Town of Hudson to 40.08¢ at Fitchburg Gas & Elec Light Co . Together they serve 1.3 million residential customers.
| Utility | ¢/kWh | Bill | kWh | Customers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts Electric Co | 33.60 | $165 | 492 | 526,437 |
| NSTAR Electric Company | 29.91 | $137 | 458 | 383,373 |
| Sunrun Inc. | 24.62 | $148 | 601 | 57,153 |
| City of Taunton | 21.46 | $134 | 622 | 35,684 |
| Town of Reading | 15.86 | $125 | 789 | 27,405 |
| City of Chicopee | 16.16 | $113 | 699 | 23,218 |
| City of Peabody | 15.71 | $112 | 715 | 22,546 |
| Tesla Inc. | 16.10 | $76 | 471 | 19,248 |
| Sunnova | 23.80 | $152 | 640 | 16,865 |
| City of Westfield | 17.59 | $118 | 669 | 16,200 |
| Town of Shrewsbury | 14.27 | $104 | 731 | 15,713 |
| City of Holyoke | 16.58 | $99 | 599 | 15,040 |
| Town of Middleborough | 15.84 | $125 | 792 | 14,884 |
| Town of Braintree | 15.79 | $112 | 707 | 14,039 |
| City of Norwood | 17.67 | $98 | 552 | 13,601 |
| Town of North Attleborough | 15.91 | $121 | 762 | 12,607 |
| Town of Danvers | 16.45 | $114 | 693 | 11,594 |
| Town of Hudson | 13.39 | $102 | 760 | 11,448 |
| Town of Wellesley | 16.20 | $158 | 977 | 9,437 |
| Town of Mansfield | 15.16 | $110 | 725 | 9,399 |
| Town of Littleton | 14.12 | $120 | 850 | 6,738 |
| Fitchburg Gas & Elec Light Co | 40.08 | $202 | 504 | 6,168 |
| Spruce Finance | 14.86 | $85 | 569 | 3,401 |
| Nantucket Electric Co | 35.11 | $283 | 806 | 2,055 |
| EverBright, LLC | 21.09 | $138 | 652 | 1,401 |
Showing the 25 largest of 26. Utilities with fewer than 1,000 residential customers are not published.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2024.
Who sells electricity in Massachusetts
Eversource and National Grid serve most of the state, with Unitil in a smaller territory. Massachusetts has full retail choice and the most developed municipal aggregation market in the United States, with several hundred communities buying supply on behalf of residents.
The competitive residential supplier market has been a persistent problem for the state's Attorney General, whose office has repeatedly found that individual residential customers who switched paid more in aggregate than they would have on basic service. Aggregation, negotiated by a municipality at scale, has generally performed better than door-to-door individual switching.
Massachusetts sits in New England. Six states sharing one constrained gas pipeline network, which sets the winter price for all of them. Read the regional analysis.
What you can actually do about it
Read the delivery section of a Massachusetts bill before you shop for supply. If most of the charge is delivery, a supply switch cannot move the total much.
Mass Save's no-cost home energy assessment is the highest-leverage first step for most households. Its insulation and air sealing incentives are unusually generous, funded by the same bill charge you are already paying.
Closest states by price
These jurisdictions charge within a fraction of a cent of Massachusetts, which is useful if you are comparing a move or a multi-state operating cost.
Massachusetts electricity rates: common questions
What is the average electricity rate in Massachusetts?
The average residential electricity rate in Massachusetts is 28.82 cents per kilowatt-hour as of May 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That is +56.3% relative to the national average of 18.44¢/kWh.
How much is the average monthly electric bill in Massachusetts?
The average Massachusetts household paid $183 a month across the twelve months to May 2026, using an average of 603 kWh. That is +18.0% against the U.S. average bill of $155, and it ranks 5th highest of the 51 jurisdictions. Your own bill depends on the size of your home, your heating and cooling equipment and your rate schedule.
Why is the Massachusetts bill ranking different from its rate ranking?
A bill is the rate multiplied by usage, and usage varies between states more than price does. Massachusetts ranks #5 of 51 on price but 5th on the actual bill, because households there use about 603 kWh a month against a national average of 871. Climate and heating fuel drive most of that difference.
Have electricity rates in Massachusetts gone up?
Massachusetts rates fell 3.6% over the year to May 2026, from 29.90¢ in May 2025 to 28.82¢.
Can I choose my electricity supplier in Massachusetts?
Retail choice statewide. Residential customers in Massachusetts can buy supply from a competitive provider while the local utility continues to deliver it and maintain the wires.