By Bonnie Adams, Managing Editor
Westborough – In response to residents’ concerns about the rising costs of electricity, the town of Westborough will be launching the Westborough Community Choice program starting in February. A municipal electricity aggregation program, it will serve as an alternative to purchasing electricity through National Grid and will allow the town to bulk purchase energy from Constellation Energy Power Choice, Inc.
In a meeting with residents held at the Westborough Senior Center Jan. 11, Town Manager Jim Malloy and Joe Shortsleeve, a consultant with Peregrine Energy Group, explained how the program would work.
Electricity service has two parts, Malloy said: supply and delivery. Supply refers to the electricity itself and can be purchased from companies such as Commonwealth. National Grid is the state’s only source of delivery (the process of bringing the actual electricity over the wires). The company does not supply electricity but rather purchases it for customers who do not have a specific contract with another company.
Westborough’s voters approved a measure at Town Meeting last year, Malloy said, to investigate whether it made sense to have a municipal aggregation. As such, with the help of Peregrine, town officials have decided to enter into a two-year agreement that will offer the supply price of 9.21 cents/kilowatt-hour (kWh). The program will include all rate classes, including residential, commercial and industrial.
That price will beat the recently announced National Grid Basic Service winter rates by 3.8 cents/kWh, Shortsleeve said.
All residents and businesses who are National Grid Basic Service electricity customers will automatically be entered into the agreement. Should any choose not to be involved, they may easily opt out by a) signing and returning a postcard that the town sent to all residents and businesses; b) calling Constellation at 844-830-3345; or c) doing so online at www.constellation.com/ma-westborough. The date to opt out of the program is Friday, Jan. 22.
Conversely anyone who has a different provider but wishes to opt in may do so and get the same rate by calling that same number. Malloy cautioned that one should check with their provider first to ensure they are aware of any cancellation fees.
He added that if one chose to opt out of the Westborough program but then wanted to opt back in, they may not get the guaranteed 9.21 cents but rather would get the market rate.
The program also offers a “Greener Option” which will allow customers to make a greater commitment to renewable energy should they choose. That option will integrate 20 percent new wind energy over and above state requirements. The price for that option is 10.31 cents/ kWh.
For more information, visit www.town.westborough.ma.us/communitychoice or call 844-483-5004.