State Rep. Tom Walsh is calling for a formal audit of the Mass Save program, based on numerous complaints from consumers regarding workmanship, lack of culpability, and responsiveness.
Mass Save was created by the 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act and has since become a ubiquitous program funded by ratepayers across the state through a surcharge on their electricity and gas bills, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, Walsh’s office said in a statement. The program is tasked with incentivizing home energy efficiency upgrades via contracts with vendors and rebate programs to cut down heating emissions from homes and businesses, which account for 35% of gross greenhouse gas emissions in the Commonwealth.
In a statement, Walsh said ratepayers deserve confidence that their money is being spent wisely.
“Participants deserve bang for their buck, and ensuring the integrity of this program, which plays a critical role toward achieving our clean energy goals, is important to me and serves the public’s interest,” he said.
And, in a letter to state Auditor Diana DiZoglio, Walsh said recent reporting from The Boston Globe and other outlets has spotlighted issues with the program, specifically “alarming incidents of theft, shoddy workmanship by program vendors, a lack of accountability, and bureaucratic unresponsiveness.”
In light of those reports and after hearing from a number of disgruntled program participants himself, Walsh called on DiZoglio to launch a formal audit of the Mass Save program.
“As we remain committed to our 2050 Net Zero carbon emission goals and to a greener future, it is incumbent upon us to ensure the public’s trust in the integrity of this multi-million-dollar energy efficiency program,” Walsh’s letter reads.
