SECTION 1. There shall be a commission to study the potential net benefits of undergrounding utility wires in the commonwealth.

The commission shall be comprised of the following members: the secretary of energy and environmental affairs or a designee, the secretary of administration and finance or a designee, the secretary of housing and economic development or a designee, the secretary of public safety and security or a designee, the director of the department of public utilities, the director of the department of energy resources, a representative from Eversource, a representative from National Grid, a representative from the Massachusetts Municipal Association, a member appointed by the speaker of the house, and a member appointed by the president of the senate. 

The commission shall conduct a study that compares the total cost of undergrounding utility lines in different regions within the commonwealth and statewide with the societal cost due to natural disasters or potential loss of power that may occur due to taking no further action to underground utility lines. 

For the purposes of the study, the following words shall have the following definitions:

“Societal cost”, the total direct or indirect financial or abstract cost of a certain action or lack thereof to a community, region, or state, including:

(a) loss of gross domestic product;

(b) loss of potential future gross domestic product due to decline in tourism or any other cause;

(c) cost increases for utility customers;

(d) costs due to mandatory or encouraged utility rationing for utility customers;

(e) costs incurred from safety hazards or concerns; 

(f) costs to property owners or renters, businesses, or any other persons or entities; 

(g) costs incurred from inhibition of internet service; and

(h) any other costs which the commission identifies.

“Utility distribution lines”, any cables, poles, or other infrastructure used to distribute electricity, internet service, cable service, or other utility service between a substation and any residential properties.

“Utility transmission lines”, any cables, poles, or other infrastructure used to distribute electricity, internet service, cable service, or other utility service between a generation plant and a substation or substations. 

The study shall analyze the following, and estimate only where the cost is unknown:

The cost of undergrounding all utility distribution lines within the commonwealth;

The cost of undergrounding all utility distribution lines within the following regions of the commonwealth:

The South Shore;

Cape Cod; 

Western Massachusetts; and 

Any other region that the agencies conducting the study designate;

The cost of undergrounding all utility transmission lines within the commonwealth;

The cost of undergrounding all utility transmission lines within the following regions of the commonwealth:

The South Shore;

Cape Cod; 

Western Massachusetts; and 

Any other region that the agencies conducting the study designate;

The potential safety concerns, and total future societal cost to the commonwealth and its citizens and businesses, of taking no further action to underground any or all utility distribution lines within the commonwealth;

The potential safety concerns, and total future societal cost to the commonwealth and its citizens and businesses of taking no further action to underground any or all utility distribution lines within the following regions of the commonwealth:

The South Shore;

Cape Cod; 

Western Massachusetts; and 

Any other region that the agencies conducting the study designate;

The potential safety concerns, and total future societal cost to the commonwealth and its citizens and businesses of taking no further action to underground any and all utility transmission lines within the commonwealth; and

The potential safety concerns, and total future societal cost to the commonwealth and its citizens and businesses of taking no further action to underground any and all utility transmission lines within the following regions of the commonwealth:

The South Shore;

Cape Cod; 

Western Massachusetts; and 

Any other region that the agencies conducting the study designate.

The study shall divide all costs analyzed in the study by responsibility, including, but not limited to: state costs, municipal costs, and others. The study shall divide all costs analyzed in the study into the total cost, and into cost time periods, based on when the cost will be realized by the responsible entity. The time periods shall be 10, 25, and 50 years from the date of the study’s completion. 

SECTION 2. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department of public utilities shall promulgate regulations to require utility companies with utility distribution or transmission lines in the commonwealth to establish a ranking system for their utility lines that measures the prudence of undergrounding each utility line. The regulations shall allow utility companies in the commonwealth to group utility lines together for the purpose of ranking, provided, however, that the smallest designated group of utility lines shall not be larger than the municipality in which the utility lines are located.