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National Grid proposes gas rate hike for Massachusetts. Here's how much monthly bills could rise.

By
Neal Riley
Digital Producer, CBS Boston
Neal J. Riley is a digital producer for CBS Boston. He has been with WBZ-TV since 2014. His work has appeared in The Boston Globe and The San Francisco Chronicle. Neal is a graduate of Boston University.
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Neal Riley

/ CBS Boston

National Grid is proposing a nearly 10% rate hike for its gas customers in Massachusetts, starting in 2027.

Customers in the company's territory, which includes much of Greater Boston and central Massachusetts, would see their average monthly winter bill rise by $24. Bills for customers on Cape Cod and in the Merrimack Valley would pay on average $25 more a month.

National Grid says the increase is needed "to support essential investments in system safety and reliability."

"We recognize the cost pressures affecting our customers and communities and are committed to using every tool at our disposal to ease short-term pressures and manage long-term costs within our control," a National Grid spokesperson said in a statement.

The company says it will also pitch new affordability initiatives like spreading out the cost of bills more evenly throughout the year and expanding discount rates to income-eligible households.

The proposed rate increase comes amid a push to bring down energy costs in Massachusetts. The Department of Public Utilities has started conducting a line item-review of customers' bills. 

"In Massachusetts, electricity and natural gas costs have risen more rapidly than inflation, resulting in economic hardship for many customers," the department said in an order on Monday announcing its investigation.

Gov. Maura Healey said she is opposed to the National Grid rate hike.

"This proposed increase by National Grid could not come at a worse time for people, and we will strongly oppose it," Healey said in a statement. "Energy costs are already too high, and we are working on every front to lower them."

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