Home Heating Costs Expected to Be High This Winter Across Massachusetts
With much of the United States experiencing significantly cold temperatures during the first month of 2025, it’s no surprise that home heating costs are expected to climb across Massachusetts this winter.
The state’s annual home heating forecast anticipated a colder winter compared to 2024, with moderately higher energy prices, including electricity, natural gas, and propane. However, home heating oil was expected to decrease by 11%.
In an interview with NBC10 News Boston, Sharon Scott Chandler, CEO of fuel assistance provider ABCD, stated, “We’re expecting increases in applications and people seeking financial assistance. I think everything has gone up, not only just the general cost of living and prices at the grocery store, but certainly what it costs to heat homes.”
According to Scott Chandler, people can receive as much as $1,000, but it’s not enough to cover heating costs for the entirety of winter.
Information provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for average energy prices in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton area for December 2024 revealed that Boston households paid 30.5 cents per kWh for electricity in December. That’s about 12.9 cents, or 73.3 percent, higher than the national average of 17.6 cents per kWh. The BLS noted, “Over the past five years, Boston-area electricity prices in December have exceeded the national average by at least 59%.”
Boston-area consumers are also feeling the increases in natural gas prices. In December 2024, prices were $2.510 per therm, about 64.9% higher than the national average of $1.522 per therm, per BLS data. Over the past five Decembers, the price for natural gas has been approximately 35% above the national average.
Residents who want to learn how to control their heating costs can visit the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources website.
