Ratepayers get a break

Some Massachusetts residents will indeed be reaping an unexpected bonus from the new federal tax law.

Sure many will be getting socked by the new $10,000 cap on state and local taxes — both of which are substantial in this state. But late last week Eversource Massachusetts announced it was passing along its tax break to customers in the form of rate relief.

“We believe it’s important that our customers reap the benefit of a lower tax rate,” Eversource Massachusetts Electric Operations President Craig Hallstrom said in a statement. “As a regulated power company our rates are based on our costs, including federal taxes, so if taxes are reduced, ultimately costs are reduced and that benefits our customers.”

The state Department of Public Utilities had already approved a rate hike of $12.2 million for customers in eastern Massachusetts and $24.8 million for western Massachusetts — although Attorney General Maura Healey, who had opposed the initial rate increase, last month asked the DPU to recalculate the new rate to reflect the changes in the federal tax law.

That bill, signed into law by President Trump just before Christmas, lowered the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent.

So maybe Eversource was just being a good corporate citizen — but then again perhaps the company figured it didn’t pay to wage a war with Healey that it was unlikely to win. (And memo to Healey: Isn’t it rewarding when the good news comes this close to home, rather than the brief flashy headlines from the gazillion suits you keep filing against the Trump administration?)

Eversource says it is now prepared to lower its rates for eastern Massachusetts by $35.4 million and reduce the proposed hike for the western region to $16.5 million.

Healey called on other regulated utilities to follow suit — which, of course, would at the very least save them a public spanking.