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62% Of Massachusetts Voters Oppose Elimination Of "Competitive Supply Market" & Being Compelled to Buy Electricity From "Utility"
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A poll of 756 Massachusetts registered voters conducted by a Boston-based pollster and sponsored by NRG Energy found that, as summarized by the polling firm conducting the survey, 62% of voters oppose eliminating the competitive retail supply market when
they learn the big utilities would be the only option for buying electricity
Specifically, the poll, among other questions, asked: "If the competitive supply market is eliminated, consumers would have to buy electricity from one of the big
utilities and could not shop for better rates or choose cleaner, carbon-free electricity. Knowing this, do you favor
or oppose eliminating the competitive supply market for electricity in Massachusetts?"
In response, 62% of respondents said that they opposed eliminating the competitive supply market for electricity in Massachusetts, with only 27% in favor of such elimination
The survey was conducted May 15 - 22, 2024. NRG noted that the release of the poll results follow, "passage of legislation in the Massachusetts Senate last month that would effectively eliminate retail electric choice for Massachusetts customers and force them onto monopoly utility service."
While NRG did not cite a bill number, the primary electric choice bills receiving attention would have preserved the ability of municipal aggregations to serve residential customers.
While the Senate's bill would eliminate, for residential customers, the competitive supply market, and the poll's results are instructive on this matter, the Senate bill would not necessarily mean that residential customers would have to purchase electricity supply from a utility, since the Senate bill preserved authority for residential municipal aggregations to continue
The poll further found that, among current retail supply customers, 61% believe that the system of allowing more competition in the electricity market in Massachusetts is working well, with 26% responding that the system is not working well
Among all voters, however, only 44% responded that they believe that the system of allowing more competition in the electricity market in Massachusetts is working well, with 33% responding that the system is not working well
Among respondents who are or were previously customers of a retail supplier, 82% respondents gave positive ratings to their experience, while only 7% gave a negative rating
"These
ratings are slightly better than ratings of utility companies among those who get their electricity from
a major utility," a memo from NRG's polling form stated
The poll found that 75% of voters believe that either the retail market should be continued with greater consumer protections and regulation (60%), or maintained as-is (15%). Only 11% of respondents said that the retail market should be eliminated
A memo from NRG's polling firm states, "Voters’ top priority for lawmakers when it comes to the energy markets is simple: keeping costs as low as
possible (83% say this is very important)."
"Protecting against utility monopolies (71% very important) and
protecting against bad actors in the electric supply market (69%) form a second tier of priorities," NRG's polling firm stated in the memo
The poll further found that 58% of voters are currently unaware of having the choice to purchase electricity from
competitive retail suppliers. Some 39% of respondents believe utilities are their only option
for electricity supply.
As previously reported, while the Senate has, in several bills, passed a ban on individual residential electric choice, the House has stripped such a ban from the House's version of a broad Senate energy bill, now under bill number S.2838. As previously reported, a conference committee has been formed to reconcile language under each chamber's version of the bill
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July 25, 2024
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Copyright 2024 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Paul Ring • ring@energychoicematters.com
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