Canton MA Electric Rates

While going door to door over the past few months, one issue came up repeatedly: rising electricity costs. Canton offers three pricing options, but many residents don’t realize they were automatically enrolled in the middle tier—which is higher than the Town’s lowest-cost “Canton Basic” option shown in the chart. If you haven’t checked your rate, it’s worth taking a look—you may be paying more than necessary.

The enrollment for the Town's most expensive plan Canton Plus Green was 1% of the homes in Canton. Only 5% of homes chose the cheapest option for electricity, which indicates many may not be paying attention to the rate options they have available. The Town automatically puts you into a higher rate unless you update your enrollment.

The Town’s supplier, Constellation Energy, is often associated with nuclear power—but Massachusetts no longer operates nuclear plants, so that energy is generated out of state. It raises a fair question about how much of the spending tied to these plans is actually benefiting projects in Canton or Massachusetts. It's also reasonable to question weather the Constellation Energy is indeed investing the proceeds of the funds into green renewable energy. In 2026 Constellation acquired Calpine which is one of the largest natural gas power generators in the U.S. The acquisition of Calpine was strategic so Gas can fill the gaps where energy demand spikes and the grid get's stressed. So if electrification increases demand—as expected under policies like the Specialized Energy Code—there’s a real possibility that additional electricity is still being backed by natural gas generation which seems to be counterproductive to decarbonization goals.

This leads to a bigger question:

If much of our power is generated out of state, are we effectively exporting investment while paying higher delivery and distribution costs here at home—something that appears to align with the way Eversource breaks down its bills.

The Specialized Energy codes FAQ's states that not passing the specialized code will result in higher energy costs for Canton residents and businesses. The FAQ does not set a baseline for the electricity plan being used to measure this projected increase, nor does it take into account the already higher energy rates being atomically passed on to Canton residents when they could be paying a lower rate. The conclusion I'm reaching is that the policies the Town is proposing are leading to the higher costs of electricity for residents and businesses and they may not even know.

If you’re concerned about your electricity costs, it may be worth reviewing your current plan. You can call and switch to the Canton Basic option, which could save you up to 12% compared to the Canton Plus Green plan, and over 3% compared to the Standard plan.