Massachusetts electric and gas utilities on Oct. 31 filed a joint energy efficiency plan with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities proposing an investment of $2.77 billion over three years from 2019 to 2021. The proposal seeks to invest over $200 million more in the new plan compared to the prior three-year period and achieve over 400,000 short tons of additional emissions reductions. The plan takes a new approach to customer-focused energy efficiency called “Energy Optimization,” a holistic and integrated approach to helping customers address their energy use and associated costs based on individual needs and goals. The programs and core initiatives are designed to deliver benefits of at least $8.5 billion, more than double the program costs of $3.8 billion. Massachusetts has topped the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy’s energy efficiency scorecard for the past eight years. The companies are NiSource Inc. subsidiary Columbia Gas of Massachusetts; Berkshire Energy Resources subsidiary The Berkshire Gas Company; National Grid plc subsidiaries, Boston Gas Company, Colonial Gas Company, Massachusetts Electric Company and Nantucket Electric Company; Unitil Corp. subsidiary Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company, among others.