Why this happens
Mass Save is funded through a charge on customer bills from Massachusetts's investor-owned utilities — Eversource, National Grid, Unitil, and a few smaller gas companies. Forty-one Massachusetts communities are served instead by a municipal light plant (MLP) — a town-owned electric utility, separate from that funding structure entirely. If your town runs its own electric department, you're not paying into Mass Save, and you can't draw rebates from it.
This isn't a penalty or an oversight. It's just a structural gap that almost nobody explains clearly, which leaves MLP-town homeowners confused about why their heat pump quote doesn't come with the rebate their friend in the next town over got.
Some of the MLP towns
This list isn't exhaustive, but it covers well-documented examples. If your town isn't listed and you're unsure, check the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center's municipal light plant directory, or simply look at who bills you for electricity — if it's not Eversource, National Grid, Unitil, or a name you recognize as a major utility, you're likely in MLP territory.
These are examples, not the complete roster — there are 41 in total across the state, ranging from small towns to mid-sized cities like Holyoke and Chicopee.
What you CAN still get if you're in an MLP town
Gas-side Mass Save benefits (sometimes)
If your gas service comes from Eversource, National Grid, Berkshire Gas, Columbia Gas, Liberty Utilities, or Blackstone Gas Company — even though your electricity is from your town's MLP — you may still qualify for a free home energy assessment and gas-side incentives, including weatherization work and the HEAT Loan.
Your MLP's own rebate program
Many municipal light plants run their own efficiency incentives, often through Energy New England (ENE) or the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC). Amounts and categories vary significantly by town — some are generous, some are minimal. Contact your local light department directly.
The Municipal Light Plant Zero-Interest Loan
The state runs a dedicated 0% interest loan up to $25,000 specifically for MLP customers doing qualifying energy-efficiency work, including weatherization and heat pump installation. This exists precisely because MLP towns can't access the regular Mass Save HEAT Loan.
NextZero battery storage rebate
NextZero offers a $100/kWh battery storage rebate specifically for residential customers of participating municipal light plants — a direct MLP equivalent to the investor-owned utility battery incentives.
The bottom line
MLP customers aren't locked out of every incentive — they're locked out of Mass Save specifically. The zero-interest loan, NextZero battery rebate, and your local MLP's own program are real money on the table, just under different names than the ones most Massachusetts heat pump marketing talks about.