Katie Castellani
State House News Service
Current lawmakers received more than $223,000 in campaign donations from high-level utility employees since 2002, according to a new dashboard, which energy advocates say shows how powerful utilities can influence the lawmaking process. Meanwhile, a key lawmaker says the funding has no effect on policymaking and utilities say they are committed to providing affordable energy.
The dashboard, created by clean energy coalition Mass Power Forward, "explains how utilities weigh into the legislative process through campaign donations," Vick Mohanka, director of the Sierra Club Massachusetts Chapter, said during a press conference outside the State House on Tuesday.
"We didn't include workers, engineers, linemen, anything like that. We did not include the folks who keep the lights on. This is just senior utility employees, their lobbyists, executives, people in those positions who are making decisions on Beacon Hill instead of us," Mohanka said. "We also did not include some of our biggest opponents: the fossil fuel industry, oil and gas companies. Since we wanted to bring specific focus to monopoly utility companies who charge permanent rates to struggling families in Massachusetts."
The dashboard was created using data from the Office of Campaign and Political Finance for all of the currently sitting lawmakers from 2002 to Sept. 18, 2026. Eversource employees donated the most with $88,690 in contributions, followed by National Grid employees, who contributed $44,560, according to the dashboard. Employees from Keegan Werlin LLP – a law firm specializing in energy, environmental and regulatory law - have donated $40,375, and workers from Avangrid, Liberty Utilities, The Berkshire Gas Company and Unitil have contributed a combined total of $21,857.
Olessa Stepanova, an Eversource spokesperson, said the dashboard's "flawed approach" focuses only on regulated utilities while excluding other entities with a financial stake in energy policy like solar developers and power generators.
"As a core partner in the development of the reliable and advanced electric grid that will be necessary to support the delivery of our essential service to customers, along with the Commonwealth’s broad electrification goals, we always bring a customer-first focus to ensuring that people and businesses have the safe, reliable energy services they need while keeping the costs we can control as low as possible," Stepanova said.
Mohanka said the dashboard includes companies that distribute natural gas and are separate from gas producers. Also, he said the dashboard does not include any clean energy companies as the group views them as separate from utilities.
Mass Power Forward describes itself as a coalition of "over 200 environmental leaders, community development organizations, clean energy businesses, faith groups, neighborhood health and safety advocates and Massachusetts families." Asked about the group's financial transparency, Mohanka said, "I mean, we file a 990, so every nonprofit has tax filings that are publicly available."
Cheryl Kimball, managing partner and chair of energy and regulatory practice at Keegan Werlin, said regulated utilities are "the biggest advocates" Bay Staters have when it comes to energy affordability.
"Their customers need and rely on the safe and reliable essential services that the utilities provide," Kimball said in a statement to the News Service. "The utilities provide these services day in and day out with dedication and firm awareness of cost impacts for customers. It is the utilities that engage with customers and seek to improve the affordability of their service for customers by training their staffs to be conscientious, responsible and caring guardians of the customer interest. If utilities are engaged in the political process, it is to protect their ability to provide safe and reliable essential services to customers at an affordable cost."
Rep. Mark Cusack, House chair of the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy and co-chair of the conference committee negotiating energy affordability legislation (H 5151 / S 3166), is the top earner for 2026 receiving $6,450, according to the dashboard. From Jan. 1 to Sept. 18 of this year, Cusack received about $81,500 in total campaign donations, according to OCPF filings.
Cusack was not available for an interview on Tuesday and said in a statement that the campaign contributions "have no impact on policymaking."
"The House remains exclusively focused on bringing energy costs down for residents across Massachusetts," he said.
The dashboard comes as energy advocates – and public officials like Gov. Maura Healey – are waiting for the House and Senate to agree on energy affordability legislation. The group behind the dashboard says it offers much-needed clarity to lawmakers' support from utilities as they are hashing out the policy details and that they plan to update it.
"We have a public that is crying out for robust legislation to reduce the cost of energy, and they deserve to know who is funneling money into the campaign accounts of the powerful politicians that are empowered to act," Scotia Hille, executive director of Act on Mass, said on Tuesday.
Mass Power Forward also launched a "No Utility Money Challenge" for lawmakers to fill out a form saying they commit to not accept contributions from gas or electric utilities, including through PACs, in-house lobbyists and senior employees.
As of 1:30 p.m., no one had signed onto the challenge, Mohanka said.