Natick Electricity Aggregation Program

Press release from the Town of Natick:

November 23, 2020

NATICK, MA. Beginning December 2020, the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program, a group electricity purchasing program provided by the Town of Natick as a service to the community, will provide increasing amounts of clean, renewable electricity to most participants. The change is the result of a new 24-month electricity supply contract with Direct Energy, which was procured by the Natick Select Board this fall and will take effect with December electricity meter reads. The new contract will also bring new prices for all program participants.

With the new contract in place, the amount of renewable electricity provided to program participants enrolled in Standard Green, the program’s default offering, will increase from 26% in 2020 to 31% in 2021 and to 36% in 2022. The increases reflect a 2% annual increase in the Commonwealth’s renewable electricity requirements and a 3% annual increase in the amount of additional renewable electricity sourced through Natick’s Electricity Aggregation Program. However, while the amount of renewable energy will increase each year, the Standard Green price will not change for the full 24 months of the contract. The price for Standard Green will change to 11.551 cents/kWh in December 2020 and will remain there until December 2022.

As part of the new contract, the program will continue to offer the 100% Green and Natick Basic/Brown options. The price for the 100% Green option, which includes 100% renewable electricity from New England-based projects, will change to $14.422 cents/kWh. The price of the Natick Basic/Brown option, which provides the minimum amount of renewable electricity required by state law, will change to $10.938 cents/kWh. Prices for both 100% Green and Natick Basic/Brown will also remain fixed for the full 24 months of the new contract with Direct Energy and will not change until December 2022.

“The Town of Natick is pleased to increase the amount of clean, renewable electricity in the community’s electricity supply while also offering benefits like stable, long-term pricing and consumer protections,” said Jillian Wilson Martin, Natick Sustainability Coordinator. “Greening the electricity grid is core to meeting Natick’s and the Commonwealth’s climate goals, and we are proud to join leaders in other communities, including Arlington, Belmont, Brookline, Newton, Lexington, Westborough and Winchester, in sourcing higher levels of renewable energy content through our Electricity Aggregation Program.”

Prices for both Standard Green and Natick Basic/Brown are expected to be below Eversource’s winter Basic Service price, which will take effect on January 1. However, Eversource’s Basic Service prices change every 6 months for residential and small business customers and every 3 months for large business customers, and future prices are not known. As a result, savings compared with Eversource’s Basic Service cannot be guaranteed.

No action is required from electricity customers currently enrolled in the Natick Electricity Aggregation Program. All active program participants will be automatically enrolled in the new Direct Energy contract in the same program offering they have now. Prices will take effect with December 2020 electricity meter reads and will first appear on January 2021 Eversource electricity bills.

Anyone who wishes to opt up to the 100% Green option, opt down to the Natick Basic/Brown option, or opt out before the new prices take effect should submit their request by December 1. Changes can be requested on the program website, MassPowerChoice.com/Natick, or by contacting customer support at 1-844-483-5004. Anyone wishing to enroll as a new participant in the program may also do so on the website or by calling customer support.

Tax-exempt account holders are reminded to submit their tax-exemption documentation to Direct Energy if they have not already done so. Information about where to submit tax-exemption documentation is available on MassPowerChoice.com/Natick.

The Natick Electricity Aggregation Program provides a Town-vetted alternative to Eversource’s Basic Service and to other electricity supply offers in the marketplace. New electricity accounts in Natick are automatically enrolled in the program. The Town of Natick does not receive any financial compensation from the program. All program participants have the right to opt out at any time.

Additional information is available at masspowerchoice.com/natick. Customer support is available from the Town’s consultants by email at natick@masspowerchoice.com or by phone at 1-844-483-5004.

This press release was produced by the Town of Natick. The views expressed here are the author's own.