Page 22 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 2021 AG REPORT | FROM PAGE 11 bors, especially those who are struggling to pay their bills.” “Our report shows that these companies continue to drain millions from communities across our state, and worse, our most vulnerable neighbors are being hit hardest in the midst of a deadly pandemic,” Healey said. “We’ve heard far too many stories of these companies going door-to-door and calling residents over and over with false promises of cheaper electricity bills, only to stick customers with a higher rate and a contract they can’t get out of. It’s time to pass legislation to protect our residents from these inflated prices and put an end to this deception.” The Attorney General’s report found that low-income customers in Massachusetts are nearly twice as likely to sign up with individual competitive electric suppliers and that they are also charged higher rates than non-low-income customers. According to the report, individual non-low-income customers who receive their electricity from competitive electric suppliers lose an average of $194 annually, but low-income customers lose even more – an average of $241 annually. The report also found that the consumer losses in this market are disproportionately borne by residents in zip codes with a higher concentration of low-income residents and residents of color in many of the state’s Gateway Cities. In September 2019 alone, Worcester residents collectively lost nearly $400,000 to competitive electric suppliers – more than any other city or town in the state. Similarly, residents in Fall River, Lowell, Brockton, Lynn and Lawrence lost more than $180,000 in the individual competitive supply market in the same single month. In December 2019, the Attorney General’s Office successfully called on the state Department of Public Utilities (DPU) to investigate the impact of competitive electric suppliers on low-income electricity customers in the state, the state’s low-income energy assistance programs and the resulting costs to all ratepayers. The Attorney General’s report did not analyze the market for commercial and industrial consumers, nor did it examine the state’s approximately 150 municipal aggregation programs. The report follows up findings from the Attorney General’s first report on the individual residential competitive electric supply industry in Massachusetts released three years ago this week, and a subsequent one released in 2019. Other efforts to protect consumers from the competitive electric supply industry During the last five years, the Attorney General’s Office’s Energy and Telecommunications Division has prioritized protecting Massachusetts’s residential electricity customers from the harms caused by these electric suppliers. In January, Healey refiled legislation to bar suppliers from signing up new individual customers. The legislation does not affect the commercial and industrial market or Massachusetts’s municipal aggregation programs. The Division has recovered more than $15 million for Massachusetts consumers harmed by these companies – including more than $7.25 million from a settlement that it reached with Starion Energy and two of its executives in August 2020. The Attorney General’s Office alleged that the company collectively charged more than 117,000 residents millions more on their electricity than they would have paid had they received electricity from their utility companies. Impacted customers will begin to receive restitution in April. The Office also secured $3.8 million in restitution through a 2015 settlement with Just Energy, and in a March 2018 settlement the Office returned $4.6 million to customers it alleges were harmed by Viridian Energy. Massachusetts residents have filed more than 1,000 complaints with the Attorney General’s Office about competitive suppliers engaging in aggressive and deceptive tactics. Complaints include conduct such as the following: suppliers pretending to be utility companies to induce customers to turn over sensitive information, suppliers harassing customers with repeated calls or home visits, and door-to-door salespeople forcing their way into elderly customers’ homes and refusing to leave without signed contracts. Since Healey first called for reform in this market in 2018, other states have tried similar efforts to protect consumers from these deceptive practices, including New York, Illinois and Connecticut. Any resident with concerns about these deceptive marketing practices should file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office or call its consumer hotline at 617-727-8400. Residents with questions can also contact the Consumer Division of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities at 877-886-5066. REAL ESTATE TRANSAC TIONS Copyrighted material previously published in Banker & Tradesman/The Commercial Record, a weekly trade newspaper. It is reprinted with permission from the publisher, The Warren Group. For a searchable database of real estate transactions and property information visit: www.thewarrengroup.com. BUYER1 BUYER2 Mcfadden, Frank K Singh, Talvinder Mcfadden, Bridgeen M Kaur, Maninder SELLER1 Fisher Evelyn L Est 58 Wellington LLC SELLER2 Marino, Georgann 48 Cleveland Ave ADDRESS CITY DATE Everett 56 Wellington Ave Everett PRICE 16.03.2021 18.03.2021 $560 000,00 $840 000,00
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