HB 1733 (2026)

Prohibits the collection of competitive supply cost true-ups as non-bypassable charges, requiring them to be recovered through default service rates.

The House amended the bill to instead requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to use fixed-price contracts for default services and limits reliance on real-time or day-ahead market purchases.

According to a report from the House Science, Technology and Energy Committee, "This bill reinforces the criteria in existing law that deals with default service electric rates (DS). The present law states DS rates are designed to minimize customer risk and not unduly harm the development of competitive markets. Presently the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has allowed utilities to obtain a large portion of the supply for DS from the Independent System Operator New England’s (ISO-NE) day ahead and real time energy markets. While this has the potential for lowering rates it also exposes DS customers to the possibility of higher rates as well and hence does not minimize customer risks. Also, having utilities obtain large portions of their needed supply for DS from the ISO-NE markets, puts them in direct competition with competitive suppliers. Additionally, the bill ensures that any reconciliation due to over or under collection by utilities in association with providing DS, shall not be collected via a non-bypassible charge and only through future DS rates. The amendment clarified the period for reconciliation of collections."