Massachusetts has launched a new seasonal heat pump rate that discounts the distribution charge on residential electricity from Nov. 1 through April 30.
According to a WBUR report, state policy requires the three major electric utilities to offer the winter-rate option to residential customers. The goal is to promote electrification and reduce climate-polluting fossil fuel heating.
When it announced the new rate last fall, state officials anticipated the average household would save $540 during the first winter of the program. WBUR spoke with Nate Heard in Shutesbury, who uses a geothermal heat pump in his five-bedroom home. Heard said he saved about $509 in the first five months, consistent with early projections for full-home heat pump users…