State Sen. Mike Barrett, who represents Lexington, will lead negotiations on a sweeping energy bill that Senate sponsors estimate could cut Massachusetts utility costs by more than $14 billion over the next decade.

Senate leaders appointed Barrett on Thursday, July 16, to chair the six-person conference committee charged with reconciling the Senate and House versions of the legislation. Barrett, who chairs the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy, is the lead sponsor of the Senate bill, titled "An Act to Save People Money, Repair the Climate and Grow the Economy."

The appointment carries local weight. Electric bills statewide have risen from roughly $130–$160 a month to a peak around $250, while a typical winter gas bill has jumped from about $140 to more than $320, according to utility filings with the Department of Public Utilities reported by WBUR in June. The median Massachusetts household spent about 3% of its income on energy in 2024.

"The Senate sees no greedy masterminds behind the scenes, but we do see pockets of overspending and overcharging that have accumulated over the years," Barrett said in a statement announcing his appointment. "This bill goes after those excesses, saves people real money, and makes sure no one loses heat or electricity when they need it most."

The Senate bill targets several line items that Barrett calls legacy overcharges. The biggest single measure is securitization of grid modernization and gas transition expenses, which Barrett's office projects would save up to $7.1 billion over 10 years. The bill would also phase out the Gas System Enhancement Plan, a pipeline-replacement program that has cost ratepayers $6.2 billion since its creation in 2014 and is projected to total $42 billion by the time the work is fully paid off, according to Boston Globe reporting. Barrett's office estimates the phaseout would save $1.46 billion.

Other provisions would crack down on predatory door-to-door energy suppliers, saving customers roughly $650 million by the sponsors' estimate, and give cities and towns the option to ban those suppliers outright. The bill also streamlines solar permitting, legalizes plug-in balcony solar panels that renters can install without roof access, and lifts caps on the number of solar projects municipalities can authorize.

One key difference between the chambers: the House version would cut roughly $1 billion from Mass Save, the state's energy efficiency program, while the Senate bill keeps the program intact.

The savings projections have not been independently verified. Eversource spokesman William Hinkle told the Globe in June that the Senate bill's approach to pipeline replacement fails to "prioritize the safety of the natural gas system that most home-heating customers rely on each winter."

Barrett will serve on the conference committee alongside Sen. Cindy Creem, D-Newton, and Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester. The three House conferees have not been publicly named. Under legislative rules, the committee can negotiate through the end of 2026 as long as both chambers moved their bills into conference by Thursday, July 31.

No timeline has been set for when the committee will produce a compromise bill or schedule public hearings.