Have you ever answered a knock on your door to find someone asking to see your electric bill? Perhaps with the promise of getting you a better deal? If so, you might've come face-to-face with a representative from a competitive electric supplier -- an industry that has been tied to high rates, and at times, illegal activity, targeting some of the states' most vulnerable residents.

While some savvy individuals are able to use these suppliers to get a better, or greener deal, State data show that this often isn't the case. In fact, the State Attorney General's office reports that between 2015 and 2021, ratepayers in Massachusetts who used a competitive electric supplier collectively paid $525 million more than if they had kept their utility as their supplier.

Boston Globe Climate Reporter Sabrina Shankman has been looking into this industry in collaboration with WBUR's Miriam Wasser. Today, she joins The Common with more on how competitive suppliers are impacting residents, and what's being done at the state-level to curtail or reform the industry.

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