Electricity meter

IMAGINE YOU find a lump under your arm. You schedule an appointment to see your primary care doctor, who orders blood work and an MRI to investigate further. At your follow-up appointment, you learn your lump is a tumor, and it’s malignant. Would you expect your physician to recommend medical treatment from a psychiatrist, orthopedist, or gynecologist as your next step? Or would you seek a referral to an oncologist specializing in cancer treatment?

While physicians specialize in their chosen fields of medicine, they cannot be experts in every type of medical issue. But what happens when four physicians publish an op-ed article diagnosing a “longstanding energy justice problem” that affects their patients and prescribe “a ban on all retail energy suppliers” in Massachusetts as a solution? While we assume these health professionals’ concerns are well-intentioned and rooted in patient advocacy, they are not experts in energy policy, consumer rights, or the law.

Retail energy suppliers give consumers the power to choose their energy supplier. This fosters competition, which may offer lower prices, improve customer service, and add a broader range of energy products, including renewable energy. The ability to choose what works best for your home or business empowers consumers to find plans that best suit their needs and environmental preferences.

Despite the authors’ collective diagnosis that “third-party electric suppliers substantially increase the cost of household electric bills over the long term,” this is categorically false. The Retail Energy Supply Association (RESA) and Intelometry publish a monthly energy market savings report based on data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities energyswitchma.gov website. In June, consumers could have saved more than $67.4 million by shopping and comparing different plans from competitive suppliers and benefited from a wide range of value-added services.

Additionally, the authors claim, “Ending residential third-party energy supply will protect low-income families from the financial harm and poor health outcomes that stem from exorbitant energy costs.” Do these four physicians think consumers believe inflation has only increased energy costs, becoming the primary financial hardship for some of BMC’s 1,108,461 patients?

Breaking news, it’s not. BMC is required to publish its services, prices, and contracted rates publicly according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid’s Services Price Transparency Rule. With more than 122,000 procedures disclosed, which resulted in $3.3 billion in annual revenue last year, no procedure is listed as pro bono. More surprising than the list of hospital costs, which exceed $500,000 for one procedure, it does not include doctor fees, cost of medications, or other provider fees. That is additional.

The op-ed raises valid concerns about some suppliers’ unethical practices and rightly calls for consumer protection. RESA and its members agree. Where we differ is labeling an entire industry as bad actors. Taking away all licenses, rather than taking away the licenses of the bad actors, is overkill. More importantly, it dismisses the value of a competitive market.

One such value that comes directly out of a competitive market is community aggregation, which the authors strongly support. However, the physicians contradict themselves by endorsing municipal aggregation programs, which utilize the same retail energy suppliers it condemns. Retail suppliers offer competitive rates, innovative services, and renewable options that benefit consumers.

RESA takes exceptional issue with the author’s assertion that “the industry’s track record shows that they have no respect for the law” and that they “have reviewed the evidence and come to the conclusion that no amount of regulation will solve it.”  We respectfully disagree. On March 6, the AG’s office released the 2023 Consumer Advocacy Report, which highlights the top 10 most complaints received for a consumer product or service in the Commonwealth. Out of the 25,435 consumer complaints filed, the number one category was healthcare services, receiving 1,348 complaints, with an additional 754 complaints filed against health insurance companies. Notably, retail electric suppliers did not appear on the top ten list.

RESA believes consumers of all income levels deserve the opportunity to choose the energy products that best fit their needs and preferences. We also understand and appreciate the need to ensure energy is affordable and accessible, especially to the most vulnerable members of our communities. RESA endorsed and testified in support of House Bill 3155, introduced by Rep. Tackey Chan of Quincy, later redrafted as House Bill 4499, which would establish and require a competitive procurement process for retail suppliers to serve low-income customers.

The authors mention BMC’s Clean Power Prescription program, launched in October 2023, which uses the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act’s Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit. This initiative provides businesses with tax credits as an incentive to build solar projects and give clean energy to low-income households.

 During the Clean Power Prescription pilot, 80 of BMC’s low-income patients (or .000007217% of their patients) will receive $50 per month of energy credits to help offset their electricity costs if they qualify. To be considered for this energy assistance program, a BMC patient must demonstrate a financial need, be enrolled in the BMC Complex Care Management Program, and be an Eversource customer.

Recognizing the Commonwealth’s ambitious carbon emission goals of being 80 percent carbon-free by 2050, Massachusetts needs more renewable energy projects implemented. However, the author’s characterization that renewable energy products provided by retail suppliers are “low quality” and do not support greenhouse gas emission reduction objectives is 100 percent false. RESA knows that renewable energy credits (RECs) are challenging to understand. We work tirelessly to make the environmental benefits of RECs easier for consumers – including physicians – to understand.

In 2003, the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) for Class I resources required 1 percent of the state’s electric utilities and retail suppliers’ energy portfolio to come from renewable sources; each year after, the percentage increases by one point, with the current minimum standard for 2024 being 19 percent. RPS requirements are fulfilled by RECs, which serve as a “proof of purchase” that can be verified and accounted for. Not only are RECs traceable, but environmental benefits don’t start and end at state lines. For example, RECs generated from eligible sources and “retired” in the New England Power Pool Generation Information System are created around the region, not just in Massachusetts.

While some suppliers elect to do more than what is required by RPS, some consumer advocates disregard the positive benefits of this because some RECs are not purchased in Massachusetts or even New England. As suppliers try to balance sustainability and affordability, this alternative approach provides customers with products that go beyond the RPS minimums but use RECs generated elsewhere in the country to allow customers the opportunity to support renewable energy generation and provide environmental benefits. This approach avoids making the perfect the enemy of the good, and customers can support the development of clean energy at an affordable price. The alternative would be for suppliers to purchase more expensive RECs and only meet RPS minimums, which does not ultimately benefit consumers.

RESA believes educated consumers are informed customers. We partner with commissioners, legislators and energy advocates to provide consumers with accurate information and data. Individuals, families and businesses should have the power to choose what works best for their needs and not have their rights taken away because of the lack of action taken against bad actors in any industry.

We urge policymakers to focus on strengthening regulations and enforcing existing laws rather than eliminating an entire sector that provides significant benefits to consumers. Through collaboration and comprehensive oversight, we can ensure a fair and competitive energy market that serves the best interests of all residents in Massachusetts.

Tracy McCormick is the executive director of The Retail Energy Supply Association.