Eversource Earned $1.4 Billion Ahead Of MA Gas, Electric Rate Hikes

MASSACHUSETTS — Eversource utility customers across Massachusetts are feeling the pinch of the company's recent electric and natural gas rate hikes, but a new earnings report released this week shows the company is hugely profitable.

Eversource earned $1.4 billion in 2022, the utility reported this week. That's about $200 million higher than the company's 2021 earnings.

By segment, Eversource earning about $234 million selling natural gas in 2022, about $30 million higher than in 2021. The company earned about $597 million distributing electricity, about $50 million higher than in 2021.

"We completed an excellent year providing dedicated and tireless service to our 4.4 million customers right up through a Christmas Eve windstorm that caused significant damage throughout our service territory," Eversource CEO Joe Nolan said in a news release. "Thousands of Eversource employees worked long days and nights in bitter conditions right through the holiday so that our customers could have power for their holiday. Their performance exemplifies who we are and what we do."

In November, Eversource sought a 43 percent increase in electric rates. That hike went into effect in January and will cover the first six months of 2023. On Nov. 1, the utility's natural gas rates rose 38 percent for Massachusetts customers — a hike of about $86 per bill for the average user.

After approving Eversource gas rate hikes last year, the state Department of Public Utility this month approved a slight lowering of rates due to "changes in the market-based price of natural gas." The 4 to 5 percent rate reductions will be reflected on March bills across all gas utilities in Massachusetts, according to DPU.

In filing its natural gas rate hike request, Eversource said the war in Ukraine and a wider natural gas shortage in Europe, among other factors, would lead to a winter gas shortage. The 2022-23 winter in Massachusetts has been mild at times, with little snow and some record high temperatures.

Unlike natural gas, Massachusetts electric customers do have a way to save on bills. Many municipalities offer aggregation programs, where cities and towns procure electricity for residents rather than utilities like Eversource and National Grid. Find a list of Massachusetts municipal aggregation programs here.