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Utility Discount Rate — Three Veteran Doors onto 25% to 71% Off Delivery

The Department of Public Utilities’ Consumer Division lists three veteran-specific programmes among the benefits that open the gas and electric discount rate: Chapter 115 veteran financial benefits, dependency and indemnity compensation for a surviving parent or spouse, and a veterans non-service-connected disability pension. The discount runs 25% to 71% of the delivery portion of the bill.

Verified August 23, 2026

What this benefit is

The Department of Public Utilities’ Consumer Division lists three veteran-specific programmes among the benefits that open the gas and electric discount rate: Chapter 115 veteran financial benefits, dependency and indemnity compensation for a surviving parent or spouse, and a veterans non-service-connected disability pension. The discount runs 25% to 71% of the delivery portion of the bill.

What it's worth: 25% to 71% off the delivery portion of your gas or electric bill

  • The Consumer Division states: "If you enroll, you may receive a discount of 25-71% of your bill. The discount applies to the delivery portion of your bill."
  • The three veteran-specific entries on the Division’s list of qualifying programmes are Veteran Financial Benefits (MASSVETS), veterans dependency and indemnity compensation for a surviving parent or spouse, and a veterans non-service-connected disability pension.
  • Households receiving MassHealth, SNAP, TAFDC or EAEDC are described as receiving the discount automatically without additional paperwork. Others seeking to enrol may need to provide proof of benefits.
  • The Division states that eligibility for the discounted rate is not limited to the programmes on its list, so a household outside all of them should still ask.
  • No single figure is published here because the percentage varies by company and the saving depends on the delivery charges on your own bill.

Who is entitled to it

  • A veteran receiving Chapter 115 benefits or a non-service-connected disability pension is on the list of qualifying programmes.
  • Dependency and indemnity compensation for a surviving parent or spouse is one of the listed qualifying programmes.
  • You live in Massachusetts, where the Department regulates these rates.
  • Your home is in Massachusetts.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Work out which of the three veteran routes you are on before you call, because they are different programmes: Chapter 115 veteran financial benefits paid by your city or town, dependency and indemnity compensation as a surviving parent or spouse, or a veterans non-service-connected disability pension.
  2. 2Contact your gas or electric company directly. The Department of Public Utilities does not enrol you; the companies do, and the Consumer Division names Berkshire Gas, Eversource, Liberty Utilities, National Grid and Unitil.
  3. 3Expect to show proof of the benefit. Automatic enrolment is described only for MassHealth, SNAP, TAFDC and EAEDC recipients; on the veteran routes, plan on producing an award letter.
  4. 4Do not stop at the discount. The same page describes arrearage management programmes for customers with an active account and a balance of at least $300 that is at least 60 days past due, where part of the past due balance is forgiven as monthly payments are made.
  5. 5If heating is the pressure, apply to the Home Energy Assistance Program. The online application opens annually on 1 October for the coming heating season, and a first-time applicant can apply in person at a local agency or online.
  6. 6If you fall outside those programmes, ask about the Salvation Army’s Good Neighbor Energy Fund, which the Division describes as one-time grants for eligible consumers.
  7. 7If service has been shut off or is about to be, call the Department of Public Utilities Consumer Division on 617-737-2836 or toll-free on 877-886-5066 rather than waiting on the company.
  8. 8Ask what the discount will be in your service area before you budget for it. The published range is wide, and the percentage differs between companies.
Form
The discount rate application of your own gas or electric company
File with
Berkshire Gas, Eversource, Liberty Utilities, National Grid or Unitil — whichever serves your address
Periodic recertification
Confirmed at intervals rather than annually.
CorrectionThis is not a veteran discount. It is the low-income discount rate, and the veteran programmes are three of the many doors onto it — which is why a veteran told "there is no veteran rate" has been answered accurately and unhelpfully at the same time.
CorrectionThe discount applies to the delivery portion of the bill, not the whole bill. On a bill where supply is the larger half, a 71% figure will not halve what you pay.
Worth knowingA veterans non-service-connected disability pension is on the list, so a wartime veteran with no service-connected rating at all can be inside this. So can a surviving parent, through dependency and indemnity compensation — a relationship almost no state benefit reaches.
Known gapThe Department publishes a 25% to 71% range without saying which company sits where, and the tariffs that set the actual percentages were not read this session. Ask your own company for its figure before relying on the top of the range.

Sources

Why only one source type: The Department of Public Utilities regulates the rate and publishes the qualifying list on its own Consumer Division page; the companies that operate the discount publish their own terms separately and none of those pages was read this session.

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.