The short answer
To switch electricity in Massachusetts: option 1 is municipal aggregation (35+ MA towns offer this — opt-out by default, often cheapest). Option 2 is individual supplier shopping via energyswitchma.gov. Option 3 is staying on utility Basic Service. Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil own the wires; only the supply line changes.
Massachusetts deregulated retail electricity in 1998. Three investor-owned utilities serve the state — Eversource (Boston + western MA), National Grid (Worcester + central), and Unitil (parts of north-central MA). MA is unique for the prevalence of municipal aggregation: 35+ MA towns bulk-purchase electricity supply on behalf of all residents.
Massachusetts utility territories
Eversource: most of Massachusetts. About 1.5 million customers. Largest MA utility. National Grid: Worcester, central MA, parts of southeastern MA. About 1.3 million customers.
Unitil: parts of north-central MA (Fitchburg, Lunenburg, Townsend). About 30,000 customers — small territory.
Municipal aggregation — the MA-distinctive option
Municipal aggregation: a town or city votes to bulk-purchase electricity supply on behalf of all residents. The town runs an RFP, picks a supplier, enrolls all residents automatically (opt-out model).
35+ MA towns currently use municipal aggregation including Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline, Newton, Lexington, Arlington, Belmont, Medford.
Aggregation rates typically beat utility Basic Service by 0.5-1.5¢/kWh. For residents in aggregation towns, this is often the cheapest and easiest option.
The three options for MA residents
Option 1: stay on utility Basic Service. This is the default for households not in an aggregation town. Rate set quarterly via utility procurement and varies materially across the year. Eversource Basic Service runs roughly 13 to 17 cents per kWh; National Grid runs 12 to 16 cents per kWh in early 2026.
Option 2: stay on municipal aggregation (if your town has one). This is the default for residents in aggregation towns. Cancel via portal or written notice. Most aggregation contracts are 12 to 36 months at a fixed rate, with optional 100-percent-renewable upgrades for an extra 0.5 to 1 cent per kWh.
Option 3: shop with an individual competitive supplier via energyswitchma.gov. DPU-licensed suppliers; same EDI 814 mechanic as other deregulated states. The how-to-switch-energy-supplier guide walks the EDI handshake. Individual shopping sometimes beats aggregation, especially for households with above-average usage.
Infographic
MA Energy Switch — DPU-run portal
Eversource vs National Grid — comparing the territories
Eversource serves the largest share of Massachusetts including Boston, the western suburbs, Worcester County, and parts of central Massachusetts. Eversource Basic Service rate has been historically higher than National Grid because of higher transmission and capacity allocations within ISO-NE. As of early 2026, Eversource residential Basic Service runs 14 to 17 cents per kWh.
National Grid serves Worcester proper, central Massachusetts, parts of the South Shore, and Cape Cod. National Grid Basic Service typically runs 1 to 2 cents per kWh below Eversource. Both utilities reset Basic Service rates twice yearly (May and November) based on procurement auctions.
For both territories, the supplier shopping logic is the same: lock a 12 to 24-month fixed rate ahead of the next reset window if competitive offers run materially below the current Basic Service rate. Massachusetts also has the longest residential 3-business-day cooling-off period; you can cancel any new supplier contract within 3 business days of signing without penalty.
Green options — 100% renewable supply in Massachusetts
Massachusetts is one of the most active states for green-supply offerings. Many municipal aggregation programs offer a default green option (typically 30 to 50 percent above the state Renewable Portfolio Standard minimum) and an optional 100-percent green upgrade for an extra 0.5 to 1.5 cents per kWh.
Individual competitive suppliers offer 100-percent-renewable products at small premiums to standard offerings. Verify Green-e Energy certification and look for renewable energy certificates (RECs) from New England wind and solar specifically, rather than national-pool RECs that may come from out-of-region sources. The renewable-energy-supply-explained and green-electricity-cost-premium guides walk the REC verification.
Massachusetts SMART (Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target) program also pays homeowners with rooftop solar a per-kWh production incentive for 10 years on top of net-metering credits. The solar-incentives-by-state-2026 guide covers the program details for homeowners considering rooftop solar.
Infographic
Green premium in MA — aggregation default vs 100% upgrade
Recap
Bottom line
Massachusetts gives residents three good ways to manage electricity supply costs: stay on utility Basic Service (acceptable but rarely the cheapest), join municipal aggregation (default for residents in 35+ MA towns and usually a small savings over Basic Service), or shop individually through Energy Switch MA (sometimes the cheapest, requires more attention). The right choice depends on whether your town has aggregation, how much electricity you use, and how willing you are to actively manage the contract.
For households in aggregation towns, the default usually saves money and requires zero effort — you are auto-enrolled and can opt out anytime. For households not in aggregation towns, individual supplier shopping plus a 12 to 24-month fixed rate is the cleanest play. The how-to-switch-energy-supplier guide walks the universal mechanic, and the how-to-buy-100-percent-renewable-electricity guide covers the green-supply options that are particularly active in Massachusetts.
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