Office of the Attorney General: Statement of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley on the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities Order on Decoupling

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

July 18, 2008

BOSTON — On Wednesday, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities announced that it was setting fourth a plan to establish a new utilities rate adjustment structure, also known as “decoupling.” Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley issues the following statement on this action:

"We have raised concerns with rate decoupling and the effect it might have on electricity and natural gas prices for individuals and businesses, and we are pleased that the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has addressed some of those concerns in its order. We are, however, troubled by some aspects of the DPU’s approach, and we remain concerned that decoupling has the potential to harm ratepayers. As the decoupling process goes forward, our office will advocate aggressively on behalf of ratepayers. We look forward to working with all stakeholders to prevent any unnecessary increase in energy prices in these fragile economic times.”