The Energy and Sustainability Committee continued its outreach efforts for town-sponsored community choice aggregation with an information session on Zoom this week.
The presentation was by Daria Mark, marketing and communications coordinator for Good Energy, the consulting firm that works with the town on implementing and managing the program.
Community choice aggregation (Bedford CCA) pools the electricity used by residents and businesses to better negotiate for supply options that foster use of renewables.
Highlights of Mark’s explanation were:
- “Delivery services always stay with the utility (Eversource).” This covers “poles, wires, everything it takes to get electricity to you,” as well as billing.
- The supplier of electricity, which is designated on the bill, can be changed by the consumer. Details on how to connect with Bedford CCA, including email and phone contact information and details on signing up, are at www.bedfordcca.com.
- The local program is called Bedford Green, and there are four options, all starting with the state-mandated 20 percent renewable content. The default choice comprises 40 percent of renewable energy, and even the 100 percent choice is less expensive than the Eversource rate, at least for the next six months. The average user (600-kilowatt hours per month) would save $29 comparing the default CCA and Eversource, Mark reported.
- There is also a “basic” option “for people who can’t afford to spend another penny on their electricity.”
- There are other suppliers, some of which send unsolicited materials to residents. Mark said some of these have been known to require an early termination fee.
Mark also pointed out that renewable energy is sourced from solar, wind, anaerobic digestion, and low-impact hydro, all from New England, and mostly from Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
She reported that there are more than 4,000 participants in Bedford CCA, and there are 160 similar programs statewide. But not all of them have a green default rate as well as additional renewable energy options, both features of Bedford CCA.
New residents become Eversource customers by default. Mark and Emily Prince, chair of the Energy and Sustainability Committee, encouraged residents to promote the aggregation program to new neighbors. Even a mass mailing could be recycled, they said; the most effective way to inform friends and neighbors is word-of-mouth.
Good Energy has materials that can share with prospective customers for outreach, such as flyers and social media materials. Details are on the CCA website.
The consultant explained that new customers can join, change energy options, or leave the program any time. She added that Bedford CCA is not allowed to reach out to former participants, according to a rule of the state Department of Public Utilities.
Mark noted that for program participants, revised rates and suppliers will be reflected in the January bill.
In answer to a question, Mark said residents who produce power with their own solar panels are not impacted by CCA. Low-income benefits and fuel assistance are not affected either,
Select Board Chair Margot Fleischman, who has been involved with the Energy and Sustainability Committee through most of its history, noted that the town committed to aggregation more than 20 years ago, but “had to wait util the energy market had matured for our first aggregation three years ago.”
“The first three years have been very successful and now we are on to our second three-year contract,” she said.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
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