TOWN OF AUBURN EXECUTES CONTRACT FOR MUNICIPAL AGGREGATION

UPDATE JAN 4, 2023

Residents enrolled in the Town’s Municipal Aggregation Power Supply Program have started seeing the change in supplier and rate noted on recent National Grid bills. Participating residents will see "NextEra Energy" as the supplier on their bills, and a supply rate of $0.23822/kWh. A notice was sent out in October 2022 to all participants in the Town’s program informing them of the new rate and contract term. 

Please note, the goal of the Town's program is to offer residents stability by locking in a rate for a set term. The new rate will result in an increased total bill, especially during winter months when residential energy usage is normally highest. The program at this time does offer cost savings when compared to National Grid’s Basic Service Supply, which is currently $0.33891/kWh.

National Grid is responsible for meter reads, customer service, and billing customers for their monthly usage. The Town has no involvement in billing residents for their energy usage. For help reading you bill, please click here. Residents should contact National Grid customer service if they believe there has been a billing error. 

(Updated Oct 6, 2022)

The Town of Auburn is pleased to announce that NextEra has been chosen as the supplier for the Community Choice Power Supply Program (“Program”). The contract will provide participating Auburn residents and businesses with a fixed electric supply rate of 23.822 cents ($0.23822) per Kilowatt Hour (kWh) for 12 months, from November 2022 to November 2023 (rate change noted on Nov '22 meter reads. Meter read dates vary by account) The renewable energy content of the supplied energy meets Massachusetts renewable energy requirements, which means 51% of the electricity is offset with Renewable Energy Certificates (REC’s) derived from clean energy resources located in the New England region.

IMPORTANT UPDATE FROM THE TOWN OF AUBURN

The Town of Auburn has participated in a Community Choice Power Supply Program (a.k.a. Municipal Aggregation) since 2015. Due to recent national and international economic conditions, the market has remained very high. The Town had to solicit bids for a new contract in a volatile market, but we are pleased to announce that the Program is able to provide some relief to our residents on their electric bills this winter compared to National Grid. The Program’s rate is thirty percent lower than National Grid’s proposed winter Residential Basic Service price of $0.33891 per kWh and twenty-six percent lower than National Grid’s winter Commercial Basic Service price of $0.32287 per kWh. Based on average usage of 600 kWh per month for residents and 1200 kWh per month for small businesses, those participating in the Town’s Program can expect to see an average savings of $60 per month and $170 per month, respectively, for the months of November 2022 through April 2023.

Please note, NGrid Basic Service rates change twice a year or more depending on rate class. As a result, the aggregation rate may not always be lower than the National Grid Basic Service rate. The goal of the aggregation is to deliver savings and stability over the life of the program against National Grid Basic Service. However, such savings and future savings cannot be guaranteed.

OPT INTO MUNICIPAL AGGREGATION

Please remember that this is an optional program! Town residents and businesses who were enrolled in the Community Choice program under the last contract (June 2022-November 2022) will remain enrolled and do not need to take any action. Those residents and business will receive a postcard in the mail (PDF) that contains details about the new fixed supply price and it's contract duration.  This change will be noted on the November 2022 bills and will be seen on the December 2022 bills.

Customers who had previously opted-out of the program will not be automatically re-enrolled. Residents that wish to participate can opt-in to the program at any time! To opt-in/opt-out, please have your NGrid bill handy and visit colonialpowergroup.com/auburn OR call NextEra at (855) 782-9301 and ask to join the Town of Auburn’s Program.  Please submit your enrollment request a minimum of two weeks before your November 2022 meter read (date varies by account and can be found on your National Grid bill(s)) to OPT-IN prior to the rate change. Enrollments can only be processed on meter reads so it may take one or two billing cycles before taking effect.
You may OPT-OUT or OPT-IN at any time in the future with NO CHARGE.

Residents and businesses with any questions are encouraged to call Colonial Power at 508-485-5858, or the Town's Energy Manager at (508) 832-7700 x 1224.

CUSTOMERS UNDER CONTRACT WITH A different Third-Party SUPPLIER

Those customers who are under contract with another supplier will not be automatically enrolled in this municipal aggregation program. Those customers may opt into municipal aggregation at any time at no charge, although there may be penalties, fees or fines to cancel a contract with the supplier. Please talk with your contracted supplier before taking any action to avoid penalties, fees or fines.

To sign up manually, have your NGrid account number ready and contact Colonial Power Group at (866) 485-5858 ext. 1 or visit colonialpowergroup.com/auburn. 

ABOUT MUNICIPAL AGGREGATION

Residents in Auburn and communities across the State are faced with escalating electric costs which increase household expenses and put a burden on homeowners, families, low-income populations and seniors. Commercial customers are challenged by high electricity costs which are consistently highlighted as a barrier to economic growth in central Massachusetts. Residents and businesses in Auburn and other communities in the Commonwealth have felt the impact of skyrocketing electricity supply costs.

The Town of Auburn’s Municipal Aggregation Plan is designed to address this uncertainty in electricity costs by combining the purchasing power of its residential and commercial customers and by competitively bidding that load on the open market. By combining this purchasing power, the Community Choice Municipal Aggregation Plan enables customers to achieve stability in their electric rates and control their electric costs. Please note, savings cannot always be guaranteed. 

The Town wants to reiterate that we partner with the following entities only, in regard to our Municipal Aggregation Program.

• Colonial Power Group; for rate solicitation, consulting, and program enrollment management.

• NextEra Energy; our electrical supplier November 2022 through November 2023.

PROCESS

In Summer 2022, Town Officials were meeting with Colonial Power Group while they solicited energy pricing in the most volatile market in recent years. Colonial was soliciting pricing first weekly, then daily, with the goal of getting Auburn residents the most favorable rate possible in this extremely high energy market. Over the course of many weeks, the Town and Colonial were in near-constant contact regarding the rates. The Program locks in rates for the 12-month term which will insulate ratepayers from market fluctuations but it also doesn’t tie the Town up for too long should the market stabilize.

The Town of Auburn has been working with its municipal energy consultant, Colonial Power Group, Inc. since April of 2015 when they were chosen by the Board of Selectmen after a competitive process. The Wind Turbine and Alternative Energy Committee had held interviews for 3 municipal aggregation consultant candidates over the course of 2014 before recommending Colonial Power Group to the Town Manager. The Town Manager concurred with the recommendation of the Committee and recommended Colonial Power to the Selectmen.