BOSTON (Legal Newsline) — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced March 29 that she has issued a report urging an end to the competitive electricity supply market for individual residential customers in the state.
“Competitive electric suppliers promise big energy savings but are actually burdening customers with hundreds of dollars in extra costs,” Healey said in a statement. “In two years Massachusetts residents lost more than $176 million to these predatory companies. I’m calling for an end to this industry because that’s the best way to protect our seniors, low-income residents, and minority communities from these persistent scams.”
According to Healey’s office, competitive electric suppliers utilize aggressive sales tactics and falsely promise cheaper electric bills to low-income, elderly and minority residents of Massachusetts. Healey plans to work with state legislature, the Department of Public Utilities, the energy industry and civil rights and consumer advocates to end down the competitive electric supply market.
“Door-to-door competitive electric suppliers have been such a problem in our city that the Quincy Police Department has issued warnings to the public,” Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch said in a statement. “For too long these companies have sold Quincy residents, particularly seniors, a bill of goods. I am proud to join with the attorney general in an effort to stop these scammers.”
Handling the case for Massachusetts are assistant attorneys general Elizabeth Anderson, Joseph Dorfler, Alexander Early, and Elizabeth Mahony, deputy division chief Nathan Forster, and division chief Rebecca Tepper, and all of Healey’s Energy & Telecommunications Division. Energy and Environment Bureau chief Melissa Hoffer also assisted.