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During the Tuesday, January 7 meeting of the Energy and Sustainability Committee, Chair Rami Alwan informed the committee that Eversource’s price for electricity has undercut the Community Electricity Aggregation (CEA) program for the first time. (59:00)
The Eversource fixed supply rate changes on February 1 and August 1 each year, and fluctuates based on market factors. The CEA rate is locked in based on an agreement signed by the Town for a longer period of time. The committee pointed out that the CEA shields residents from the volatility in the Eversource rate, and has produced outsized savings for residents since the program was enacted.
Chair Alwan indicated that all-time savings for the typical household is north of $2,000. He also estimated that residents who opt out of the CEA would save approximately $90 to $100 in the next six months. The process to opt out takes some time according to Alwan, so the savings may be smaller.
“In truth, over these 8 years, residents have saved approximately, on average, 2,200 dollars and so this may cut into one short period of savings that they’re not going to get. But yes, I agree the volatility is another piece of it.”
(1:02:05)
The committee also discussed how the CEA program offers greener plans than the Eversource basic service rate, so residents who wish to support sustainable energy are still better off with the CEA program in their view.
While the committee remained enthusiastic in their support of the CEA over the long run, they felt it was their obligation to alert residents to the situation with full transparency. Chair Alwan indicated that he would be working with Town staff to communicate everything out to the town.
