NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — A grassroots movement is now taking shape because of the public’s dissatisfaction with the money they’re paying to Eversource each month to heat their homes.
About two weeks ago, Elijah DeSousa of New Bedford created the Facebook group Citizens Against Eversource, which has garnered more than 15,000 followers in that time.
He took it upon himself to start the group after noticing a trend of people posting their high, Eversource energy bills on the social media platform.
DeSousa explained, “We all kind of look around in these moments, waiting for somebody to step up, and, you know, the reality is nobody is coming to save us, and we have to save ourselves. And, there was a voice in my head that said, ‘Why not you?’”
Just last week, DeSousa also generated this petition that aims to reverse Eversource’s rate and delivery hikes through various legislative and legal actions. That includes, but is not limited to: A financial audit of Eversource’s corporate practices and reasons for price hikes, and an emergency injunction to halt the Nov 1, 2024 rate and delivery charge increases.
During that time, the Department of Utilities approved natural gas rate hikes, and about 500,000 Eversource customers were expected to see their bills increase by 25 -30 percent, according to officials.
While DeSousa has already struggled to wrap his head around the price hikes, he said his bill rose again over the last two months, and his bill is about 100 percent more now than it was this time last year. Others in the Citizens Against Eversource Facebook group have made similar observations.
Boston 25 News reached out to Eversource about the more recent bill increases, and they sent us a statement that read, in part, “With colder temperatures in December and January, customers have been using more natural gas to heat their homes and businesses to stay warm, and any increase customers have seen in the bills they’ve received for the last month compared to the previous month has been primarily driven by that increased usage.
Boston 25 News showed DeSousa the energy company’s response, to which he replied, " They can put out whatever spin they want,” he said.
it enrages me because it insults the intelligence of the American people.”
Ultimately, DeSousa’s long-range goal is to create and put a ballot measure before Massachusetts voters that would work to protect the consumer against rising energy costs.
On Friday, February 14th, Senators from The Commonwealth of Massachusetts General Court sent a letter to Department of Public Utilities Chair James Van Nostrand, urging him to take immediate action and review recent energy rate increases for Eversource and National Grid.
The letter stated, “Eversource has attempted to blame these spikes on colder temperatures, increased usage, and rate adjustments implemented in 2024. Yet many customers who have kept their thermostats at consistent levels are still seeing drastic hikes, raising serious concerns about the fairness and necessity of these increases.”
This week, Eversource is hosting two, free virtual information sessions so customers can learn about their assistance programs and payment plans available.
They will be held on Tuesday, February 18 and Thursday, February 20. Both will be held from 1-2 p.m. and people can register here.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
