Rational Energy Solutions

10/18/2025

New Eversource Electric Rate For Homes With Heat Pumps

Do you have a heat pump installed in your home that you use for heating? If so, heating with a heat pump is about to get much cheaper. The Massachusetts Dept. of Public Utilities has ordered Massachusetts electric utilities to create a new residential electric rate for homeowners with heat pumps. This includes homes that heat PARTIALLY or FULLY with a heat pump. This new rate will help incentivize the adoption of heat pumps in place of heating systems using fossil fuels in order to lower CO2 emissions, which are the main cause of climate change.
Starting with the billing period covering November 2025, the “Delivery” portion of your electric bill will be reduced by $0.07/KWH. This is a savings of approximately 25% on your total electric bill (including the delivery and generation portions of your bill). This new rate will cover the months of November-April (winter period). The electric rate in the other months (summer period) will remain unchanged. What’s important here is that the “winter” rate will apply to your entire electric bill, not just the electricity used for heating. The new heat pump rate will make heat pumps competitive with natural gas to heat your home. For oil and propane users, the savings will be significant. A typical 2,500 sq. ft. home with heat pumps will save about $750 per year with this new rate, compared to oil heat.
This change does NOT affect the “generation/supplier” part of your electric bill. Whether you have elected to use one of Needham’s new “Needham Power Choice” rates or have remained with Eversource as your supplier, or you have a private electricity supply contract, those “generation” rates remain unchanged. This new heat pump rate applies only to the Delivery portion of your electric bill.
Anyone who has purchased a heat pump through the Mass Save program since 2019 will be enrolled automatically for the lower rate. If your heat pump was not installed via the Mass Save program, you are still eligible, but you need to contact Eversource and request to be included under the new rate. Everyone should start reviewing your November electric bill (received in December) to make sure the change has been made to your account. If not, contact Eversource.
https://www.eversource.com/residential/account-billing/manage-bill/about-your-bill/rates-tariffs/heat-pump-rate?utm_campaign=15915369-Heat%20Pumps%20FY26&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8o_hEJFoQ9szUM72cudJakIQcv0wQBuJglj63UmmZBfFTp7rI1PCYKlkjQWXSOEmqb6emcaO2s2nXEMhoQcGSOIVnhTQ&_hsmi=387850972&utm_content=387850972&utm_source=hs_email

https://www.nationalgridus.com/MA-Home/Rates/Heat-Pump-Rate?utm_campaign=15915369-Heat%20Pumps%20FY26&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9tzjeReaxsYj0ygLP1pJJN-a1vmZyITtJnnKEiIqcaxmNK-yHzdccN-cbPTs6NVt_ZTrfJDQHsZPhRPRUKlx70YLdWRw&_hsmi=387850972&utm_content=387850972&utm_source=hs_email

If you use a heat pump to heat all or part of your home, you can take advantage of a new, reduced distribution and transmission rate during the winter months.

10/10/2025

Time The Best Inventions of 2025

Oct 9, 2025 7:00 AM ET
Jetson Air
A less costly heat pump
by
Micheline Maynard
Courtesy Jetson Home
Heat pumps are an efficient, electric alternative to conventional furnaces and air conditioning, 80% of which in the U.S. run on fossil fuels. But a major obstacle to wider adoption is their installation cost, which runs thousands of dollars more than traditional HVAC systems. To cut the upfront expense, heat pump startup Jetson uses tech to assess projects remotely so they’re only on-site for installation day. And it’s turning to vertical integration to cut costs further, launching its own device, Jetson Air, in September. A 24/7 monitoring system alerts technicians of any potential defects while sensors track air quality and remind owners to replace their filters.

09/26/2025

"Mother-*****ing Windfarms" ad

These snacks are made with seaweed grown at a Vattenfall offshore wind farm. We call it Wind Farming. Learn more about the snacks and our collaboration with ...

09/18/2025

You should check with your electric customer service department to verify that you are being changed to the new heat pump rate (R1HP). It will save $0.075 per kWh on the distribution portion of your charges for ALL usage, even if you have a competitive energy supplier contract.

Massachusetts Heat Pump Rate
A new rate option is coming soon for residential electric customers in Massachusetts. If you use a heat pump to heat all or part of your home, you can take advantage of a new, reduced distribution and transmission rate during the winter months (Nov. 1 to April 30) to help you save on your winter electric bill.

Who qualifies?
If you received a Mass Save® rebate for a heat pump you installed after Jan. 1, 2022, you will be automatically enrolled on this rate beginning Nov. 1, 2025. If this applies to you, you will be notified of your enrollment on the Heat Pump Rate prior to Nov. 1. If you didn’t receive a rebate from the Sponsors of Mass Save or if you installed your heat pump prior to Jan. 1, 2022, you’ll be able to verify your eligibility for the Heat Pump Rate by providing some additional information to your utility.

11/20/2023

On Jan. 1, if you are a residential customer receiving electric supply from Eversource (vs. another supplier), the Basic Service Charge will change from 16.08 cents per kilowatt-hour to 17.25 cents per kilowatt-hour. Last winter’s supply rate was 25.78 cents per kilowatt-hour.

09/13/2023

Tell your legislator to vote "NO" on HB3196 and SB2106

05/22/2023

New Eversource electric rates

Summer Electric Rates Filed; R1 $0.323/kWh
On July 1, if you receive energy supply from Eversource (vs. a third party) your electric bill will decrease by approximately 23%.

The Basic Service supply charge will change from 25.78 cents per kilowatt-hour to 16.08 cents per kilowatt-hour for residential customers who receive their energy supply from Eversource.

The Delivery charge will also change from 16.29 cents per kilowatt-hour to 16.39 cents per kilowatt-hour – a monthly increase of approximately $1 to customers using the average of 600 kilowatt-hours per month. The increase is to recover costs associated with maintaining and modernizing the grid and to fund energy efficiency programs for all customers to help you save energy.

Winter prices have the potential to spike higher again in January 2024, just as they did this year, and we’re encouraging you to plan for this likely increase.

How much you pay will depend on how much energy is used, your rate category, and weather conditions. The new Basic Service charge will be in effect from July 1 through Dec. 31, 2023. Basic Service does not apply to customers who receive energy from a third-party supplier or through municipal aggregation. Those providers manage and are responsible for communicating any supply price changes.

05/12/2023

Graphic shows heating energy sources. It's interesting that where the Fed Gov. invested in hydro dams and nuclear plants in the West and South, electric heating is predominant because electric rates are low. The Northeast is predominantly oil with some natural gas near the cities, increasing the cost of living.

05/03/2023

Heat pumps must work in cold climates because...

Norway has the highest market pe*******on of heat pumps in Europe: 30,000 heat pumps per 100,000 people. There are only ~5,300 heat pumps per 100,000 people in the United States.

Source: European Heat Pump Association

04/12/2023

New 15-20% lower Eversource rates proposed for June which means going from $.40/kWh to low $.30s

BOSTON — Eversource’s natural gas customers could be getting a break on their bills with the utility company seeking approval from regulators to reduce rates next month, the company said.

02/09/2023

A current survey and article on users of heat pumps in the extreme cold of last weekend (-13F) in New England. Some are not good examples because the installation was not correct for the situation or the house was poorly insulated. There are many factors that affect performance of heat pumps, but they can be used very effectively if designed correctly.

Heat pumps are considered crucial to the region’s response to climate change. But when temperatures plummet, are they up for the job?