Massachusetts has among the highest commercial electricity rates in the country — a fact that surprises businesses relocating from the South or Midwest, and frustrates local operators who have been dealing with the premium for years. Understanding what drives those rates, how they break down on your bill, and what a realistic competitive alternative looks like is the starting point for actually doing something about your electricity costs.

How Massachusetts Commercial Electricity Bills Are Structured

A Massachusetts commercial electric bill has two fundamentally different types of charges: supply (generation) and delivery. You can affect supply charges through competitive procurement. Delivery charges are regulated by the utility and not negotiable.

• Supply: Supply charge: The cost of the electricity itself — generation purchased on the wholesale market and resold to you. This is the component a competitive supplier replaces.
• Distribution: Distribution charge: The cost of operating the local wires, transformers, and infrastructure that deliver power to your building. Regulated by the DPU. Not negotiable.
• Transmission: Transmission charge: The cost of moving electricity over high-voltage lines from generation sources to the local grid. Set by FERC and ISO-NE. Not negotiable.
• Capacity: Capacity charge: Your share of the regional capacity cost, which funds the generation resources ISO-NE requires for reliability. Appears as a passthrough or is embedded in supply rates.
• Other: Additional charges: Renewable energy charge (RPS compliance), energy efficiency, net metering charges, and utility-specific line items.

What the Supply Component Looks Like in 2026

Eversource default service rates for commercial accounts are set through six-month procurement periods (January-June and July-December). Rates vary by customer class and have been in the range of 8–16 cents per kWh for most commercial rate classes over the past several years, with significant variation based on when Eversource conducted its most recent procurement.

Competitive fixed-rate supply for a well-profiled commercial account — annual consumption above 500,000 kWh, consistent load factor above 60%, no significant demand spikes — is typically competitive with or better than Eversource default service when market conditions are right. The timing of when you lock in a competitive contract relative to the forward market curve determines the savings.

Factors That Affect Your Commercial Rate

• Load factor: The ratio of your average demand to your peak demand. Higher load factor (more consistent consumption) means lower risk for the supplier and a better price for you.
• Annual volume: Larger accounts have more negotiating leverage and can access better pricing, including custom product structures not available to smaller buyers.
• Demand charges: Massachusetts commercial customers on demand-metered rate classes pay separate demand charges to their utility regardless of supplier. This is a utility tariff item, not affected by competitive supply.
• Contract term: Longer fixed-rate terms carry a premium for the supplier’s additional hedging cost. 12-month fixed rates are typically cheaper than 36-month fixed rates in a normal yield curve environment.
• REC content: If you want a green product with Class I renewable energy certificates, expect to pay a premium above a standard supply price.

How to Get an Accurate Rate Comparison

The most reliable way to understand where your rate sits relative to the market is to work with a licensed energy broker who can obtain simultaneous competitive quotes from multiple suppliers. The broker will need 12 months of utility billing history and your current rate class. From that, they can model a competitive quote and compare it to your current default service rate on an apples-to-apples basis.

Contact Gridwealth Electric: Gridwealth Electric serves C&I customers in Massachusetts through licensed energy brokers. For a market rate discussion, contact us at tford@gridwealth.com.