Winchester’s WinPower Program Renewed through December 2027

Winchester, MA – (November 11, 2024): The Town of Winchester announces the renewal of its community electricity program, WinPower, with lower prices and more renewable electricity for the new contract period December 2024 through December 2027. WinPower is a group purchasing program, operated by the Town since 2017, which provides electricity supply options to help residents and businesses manage costs and increase renewable energy use. Current participants do not need to take any action to remain in the program and receive the new pricing.

The Town is excited that it has secured lower prices for all of our electricity supply options! The Town has secured these lower prices, while also increasing the amount of renewable energy in our community’s default option, WinPower Standard. WinPower Standard will now provide 25% more New England-based renewable energy known as “MA Class I renewable energy.”

All current WinPower participants will receive a letter during the first week of November outlining the updates to our contract dates and rates. If you are already participating, you will not need to take any action to remain in the program at your current level and receive the new pricing. If you DO NOT receive a letter, it means that you are currently receiving your electricity supply from a third-party supplier. You may enroll in Winchester’s WinPower program at any time. Please check with your current supplier to be sure you will not be charged an early-termination fee. WinPower never charges a fee for terminating your participation or for switching your choice of our three product options.

The first bill to show the new WinPower pricing will be the bill you receive showing usage from your December 2024 meter read to January 2025 meter read. Most customers can expect to receive this bill in mid-January 2025.

WinPower provides more Renewable Energy Most participants are enrolled in WinPower Standard which will now provide an additional 25% renewable energy from New England-based Class I sources. Town-wide, our program has had a major environmental impact, purchasing 13,000 megawatt hours (MWh) annually, which avoids over 10 million pounds of carbon pollution each year.

Now is the time to do even more with WinPower 100. Winchester currently has about 550 households enrolled in our 100% clean electricity option called WinPower 100. With the new rate being less than one cent different from the WinPower Standard product, this is a GREAT time to switch to WinPower 100 and help Winchester reach its climate action goals for reducing carbon pollution!

Am I enrolled in WinPower? Look at the Supply section of your Eversource electricity bill. If you participate in the program, it will say that your Supplier is “Direct Energy for the Town of Winchester” and the rate/kWh you are being charged. You can compare the supply rate on your bill to the chart above. If you do not see “Direct Energy for the Town of Winchester” as your supplier, then you are either a new Eversource customer and will be automatically enrolled in WinPower Standard, or you are paying a third-party supplier who should be listed by name.

Have questions? Need help? An Information Session will be held for residents on Tuesday November 12 from 11am – 12pm at the Jenks Center. Bring your bill and your questions. The Town Sustainability Director and the Town Energy Outreach Coordinator will be on hand to answer your questions.

As a reminder, WinPower prices only apply to the Supply portion of your electric bill and take effect on your meter read date. Eversource will continue to set the charges on the Delivery portion of your electric bill. Eversource will continue to maintain the infrastructure, repair outages and manage all billing. The WinPower supply contract has no impact on any solar benefits, low-income discounts, or budget billing plans.

If you are not currently participating in WinPower, you can enroll any time by completing the enrollment form on our website linked here WinPowerMA.com.

WinPower participants may leave the Program at any time, without penalty and return to Basic Service supply with Eversource. To leave the Program, call Eversource at (800) 592-2000, or submit a request at WinPowerMA.com.