HOW I VOTED ON H.5151

On Thursday February 26, 2026 – The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed H.5151 - An Act relative to energy affordability, clean power and economic competitiveness.

I voted YES on House bill H.5151 (as amended). This bill focuses on energy affordability that will result in over $9 billion in savings for utility ratepayers over the next 10 years. The bill makes a one-time funding reduction to the Mass Save program, diverts environmental compliance payments from electricity suppliers back to residents, and positions Massachusetts to further diversify and modernize its energy grid.

I also gave my inaugural address (first floor speech as a State Representative) on this bill. The speech is included with this How I Voted summary.

H.5151, as amended passed by a vote of 128 YES, 27 NO. This bill now goes to the Senate for its consideration.

See https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5151 for more information on the

amendments roll call votes.

This bill:

• Reduces the Mass Save budget by $1 billion for immediate ratepayer savings, prioritizing cuts to the plan’s marketing, advertising and administrative budgets. Mass Save is primarily funded by utility ratepayers through a mandatory charge on their gas and electric bills.

• The bill also tasks the Office of the Inspector General with a review of Mass Save to ensure that the program and its administrators are efficiently and effectively using ratepayer dollars. The report is due by July 1, 2027.

• Returns 70 percent of Alternative Compliance Payments (ACP), which are fees paid by energy suppliers for not meeting renewable energy standards, to customers until July 1, 2029.

• After July 1, 2029, the Department of Energy Resources (DOER), in consultation with MassCEC, mandates that 70 percent of ACP payments be returned to ratepayers in any year where money in the funds exceeds the predicted level by 2 percent and energy costs are a substantial burden to residents of the Commonwealth.

• Reduces net metering credit amounts, which are a significant surcharge on electric bills.

• Requires distribution companies and gas companies to provide discounted rates for low-income customers and eligible moderate-income customers.

• Requires that any standard residential default service rates cannot be changed more frequently than once every six months. Establishes an electric rates task force to advise and make recommendations on the current and future cost of electricity in the Commonwealth with a report due by September 30, 2027.

The House bill also brings more energy onto the grid and protects the workforce during the transition to clean energy. The bill:

• Expands the Commonwealth’s energy procurement authority by authorizing DOER to competitively solicit environmental attributes or energy services and negotiate and enter into long term contracts.

  
  

• Requires DOER to establish a state-led offshore wind pre-development and project acceleration program to enable the Commonwealth to partner with offshore wind developers to further the Commonwealth’s goals. The bill also extends from June 30, 2027 to June 30, 2029 the deadline for cost-effective long-term contracts for offshore wind energy generation.

  
  

• Allows DOER to develop a statewide energy storage incentive program to encourage the continued development of energy storage resources connected to the electric distribution system.

• Allows for smart solar permitting to get more projects online faster.

  
  

• Removes barriers for nuclear energy by repealing chapter 503 of the acts of 1982, which established requirements for voter approval and legislative certification of any new nuclear power plant or any facility for the disposal or storage of low level radioactive waste in the Commonwealth.

• Allows for high voltage transmission lines on state highways.

• Requires labor peace agreements for geothermal energy projects to help support and create jobs, adds prevailing wage requirements for work on thermal energy networks, and requires transition plans for gas workers during the transition to clean energy.

The House bill also addresses predatory practices by certain suppliers, which impact consumers while certain utilities benefit through business practices that result in higher utility costs. The bill:

• Creates a real-time, online, retail residential customer bill assessment dashboard with: explanations of customer bill components; and an analysis of the benefits of certain programs, procurements and investments.

• Adjusts the reporting requirements for electric and gas companies, transmission

  companies, distribution companies, suppliers and aggregators and suppliers of natural gas to require quarterly reporting.

• Protects consumers by restricting predatory marketing practices by competitive electric suppliers by eliminating automatic renewals and variable rate contracts, by requiring more transparency for consumers, and by establishing new licensing requirements for door-to- door and telemarketing firms.

  
  

• Allows municipalities to opt out of competitive electric supply

• Requires utility audits and approvals for asset condition projects that are projected to cost more than $25 million

• Requires gas companies to implement default budget billing for residential customers

During this formal session, I also offered a moment of silence and session adjournment in memory of former State Representative for the 10 th Bristol District and former State Senator for the 2nd Bristol/Plymouth District William Q. “Biff” MacLean, Jr.(Fairhaven)

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/1458f1_ba8c510237114b99b5ab8ab2a252152e/144p/mp4/file.mp4

Mark Sylvia Inaugural Speech (February 26, 2026)

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and through you to the Membership, I rise today in support of H.5151.

I would like to start by thanking the people of 10th Bristol District, it is truly an honor to represent you in this house of representatives. I would also like to thank my extended family and friends for their encouragement and to my dad Ray, who worked in corrections, my mom Jeannette, a retired nurse, and my children, Mitchell and Scarlett. Thank you for your love and support.

I want to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to the leadership of this chamber and all my colleagues for making energy affordability and modernization a priority.

To the Chair of Ways and Means, thank you for your stewardship of a complex and

consequential bill.

To the Chair, Members, and Staff of the Telecommunications Utilities and Energy Committee, thank you for your thoughtful and steady leadership in moving this legislation forward.

And, to Speaker Mariano, thank you for making this bill a priority for the House. H.5151 represents a meaningful step in the right direction — one that recognizes both the immediate need to protect ratepayers and the importance of grid reliability and our clean energy and climate goals.

I rise in support of that progress. I know that advocates on every side of this issue believe there are provisions in this bill that they agree with and those they do not. That place of compromise, in many ways, is where the best solutions reside.

We are here today because our constituents are hurting. The cost of everything has gone up – including energy. It is important that we act to ease the strain this economy has placed upon our constituents, and this bill gives us the opportunity to do so.

The important reality is that we can - and we must - work to provide financial relief to our constituents while also making advancements in reliability, economic opportunity and clean energy.

As a former Energy Undersecretary and DOER Commissioner who worked to ensure we

implemented programs and priorities that helped lower costs, generate economic development and reduce emissions - I believe this bill continues those efforts. I would not be standing here offering my support for this bill, if I didn’t believe H. 5151 struck the right balance between relief to ratepayers and our responsibilities to deliver a reliable and clean grid that grows our economy.

On affordability and transparency, this bill creates a real-time customer bill dashboard, protects consumers who are on competitive supply, Requires utilities to provide discounted rates for low- income and moderate-income customers, allows the dpu to audit the utilities, establishes an electric rates taskforce, adjusts the current mass save three-year plan budget, returns 70% of alternative compliance payments to ratepayers, and establishes stronger transparency requirements for utilities among other critical provisions.

In addressing clean energy and the climate, H.5151 establishes a division of clean energy procurement, provides innovative approaches on interconnection, establishes necessary solar consumer protections, and provides tools to ensure more cost-effective clean energy generation is added to the grid.

Ultimately,

We can insist on affordability and reliability for our ratepayers while still leading the nation in climate policy.

We can modernize our grid and protect working families.

We can expand renewables and demand transparency.

Today is an important step, in what should be an ongoing discussion about energy. What happens globally, regionally, across the commonwealth and in our districts, impacts how energy is generated, transported and used. Energy is a dynamic and challenging issue.

And so, we must always be prepared to act – H.5151 is one of these moments.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important piece of legislation. I look forward to working with each of you to ensure that our energy system is reliable, affordable, and forward-looking — and that we continue to build a commonwealth that leads with both innovation and integrity.

Thank you.