Bedford’s community choice aggregation program is pulsating with good news.
As town officials Monday announced that the program will continue at least through November 2024, they also confirmed a slight decrease in the rate for the standard choice – which will be incorporating an additional 20 percent renewable energy over the current content.
Community choice aggregation, which began here in August 2019, is a tool for effective negotiations with suppliers of renewable energy because it encompasses most residential and small business electricity customers in the town. Participation is voluntary and enrollment is automatic. The town works with the consultant Good Energy to manage electricity procurement.
The green energy is reflected in Renewable Energy Certificates (REC), each of which confirms the generation of one megawatt of electricity from clean sources, such as a wind farm or a solar power plant. Products described as green contain additional (RECs) above that required by state law.
The renewed agreement goes into effect in December. Participants will see the rate for their Bedford CCA product reflected in the supply services portion of the bills received in January.
Bedford CCA offers four electricity choices with different amounts of renewable energy. The amount of green energy in an aggregation plan is expressed in terms of a percentage above the state’s required renewable standard, set at 20 percent.
Almost all of the program’s participants are enrolled in the standard option, called Bedford Local Green. That rate will decrease from $0.1110 to $0.10927 per kilowatt-hour. This option increases the renewable energy proportion of the product from 5 to 20 percent above the basic minimum.
Customers also have choices with more significant reliance on renewables. One plan with 50 percent renewables has a rate of $0.12022 per kilowatt-hour, and another with 100 percent has a rate of $0.13847. There’s also a basic rate, which only includes the state minimum, with a lower rate than Bedford Local Green, $0.110197.
According to the town’s announcement, “The additional renewables are sourced entirely from New England, and annually, the program now purchases approximately 1,800 megawatt-hours more renewable electricity for Bedford’s program participants than required by Massachusetts law.”
There is no charge for changing products, or for opting out entirely and choosing to receive electricity from Eversource, which will continue to deliver electricity, bill program participants, and service infrastructure.
“I’m glad to see that we were able to include so much more renewable electricity in our standard product, Local Green, responding to the community’s ask for faster action on climate change without an impact to the rate,” said Select Board Chair Margot Fleischman in a statement released Monday.
Every rate announcement is accompanied by this disclaimer: “Savings cannot be guaranteed as compared to Eversource basic service rates, which change every six months for residential and commercial accounts, and every three months for industrial accounts.”
Bedford is one of more than 160 Massachusetts cities and towns that have an electricity aggregation program.
For more information about the program, see BedfordCCA.com. To access information about Basic Service, see www.mass.gov/info-details/basic-service-information-and-rates or call Eversource at (800) 592-2000.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
Loading ...
