40% of our state’s electricity costs come from just 10% of our electricity use (EED 2026). That’s because spikes in demand on the hottest and coldest days (called “peak loads”) drive up prices and waste resources. But Mass Save and the Alternative Compliance Payments are helping bring down peak loads, saving money for every ratepayer in the Commonwealth.
Peak loads are driving your utility bills higher and higher.
- Surge Pricing: when electricity demand is high, prices go up (DOER 2026). Those costs end up on everyone’s bills.
- Wasted Wires: meeting these surges requires extra power plants and equipment that only rarely get used, but need to be paid for all the time. 3 in 4 of Massachusetts’ “peaker plants” use less than 1% of their capacity each year (PSE 2020).
- A Growing Problem: without energy efficiency investments from programs like Mass Save and ACPs, these avoidable peak load expenses will cost Bay State ratepayers $950 million/year by 2030, and $4.8 billion/year by 2050 (DOER 2026).
By cutting peak loads, Mass Save and ACPs reduce utility bills for everyone, even if you don’t directly participate in these programs.
- Lower Prices: by avoiding surge pricing, energy efficiency can lower costs for all ratepayers by $724 million/year by 2030 and $1.9 billion/year by 2040.[1]
- Less Waste: by cutting future peak loads, energy efficiency can reduce unnecessary infrastructure spending by $520 million/year by 2030 and $1.1 billion/year by 2040, costs that would otherwise end up on your bills.1
- Win-Win-Win: these savings are on top of the direct savings for households and businesses that participate in energy efficiency programs ($8.7 billion/year by 2040) and the environmental benefits of lower emissions (3.7 billion/year by 2040).1
- Environmental Justice: “peaker plants” tend to use the dirtiest, most polluting energy and are disproportionately located in low-income and minority communities (PSE 2020).
- Faster Building: old electrical grids can delay new building projects by months or even years (MMA 2026). Reducing peak loads leaves room for new homes and businesses.
Sources
- DOER (2026). “Peak Potential.” MA Department of Energy Resources. Available at mass.gov/info-details/peak-potential-load-management-for-an-affordable-net-zero-grid.
- EED (2026). “Peak Demand Management Grant Program.” MA DOER Energy Efficiency Division. Available at mass.gov/info-details/peak-demand-management-grant-program.
- MMA (2026). “‘Power Forward’ initiative aims to build housing faster, lower costs.” Massachusetts Municipal Association. Available at mma.org/power-forward-initiative-aims-to-build-housing-faster-lower-costs/.
- PSE (2020). “Massachusetts Peaker Power Plants.” PSE Healthy Energy. Available at psehealthyenergy.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Massachusetts.pdf.
Savings calculated using results for all passive interventions (except hybrid heat pumps, to avoid double-counting) in the E3 Cost-Benefit Model (see DOER 2026). Price savings are from the Energy Demand Reduction-Induced Price Effects, infrastructure savings are from the Capacity, Transmission, Distribution, and Reliability results, and direct savings are derived from the Bill Savings results.