Massachusetts

Growth of Community Electricity programs in Massachusetts

Good Energy is currently helping over 50 municipalities, with over 500,000 households, throughout Massachusetts develop, implement and operate successful Community Electricity Aggregation (CEA) programs. Many of these municipalities have included trailblazing renewable energy content helping New England transition from fossil fuel-based electricity to renewable sources.

What is aggregation?

All electric ratepayers – whether they are individual home owners or large manufacturers – pay two parts of an electric bill: the supply and the delivery. Delivery is always in the hands of the electric utility, but the supplier for the supply portion of your electricity can be changed. By default, the utility provides electricity supply called Basic Service. With Community Electricity Aggregation programs, a city or town chooses a new supplier on behalf of eligible residents,  businesses and other ratepayers. Anyone who doesn’t opt out before the program starts, is automatically enrolled and reaps the benefits of the program.

Benefits of municipal aggregation include

• Renewable energy options
• Local control of electricity supply choices
• Increased knowledge of electricity sources

Green Aggregation: Supporting New England-based Renewable Energy 

Good Energy, partnered closely with Green Energy Consumers Alliance and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, developed the green aggregation model that now predominates in Massachusetts. We used the model to launch some of the first green aggregations with Dedham and Melrose in 2016, followed closely by Arlington, Brookline, Somerville, Sudbury and Winchester in 2017. These municipalities were the first to demonstrate that green aggregation could be well accepted successful programs that are in full operation today.

To learn more about the green aggregation model, read the Green Energy Consumers Alliance’s blog post on how green aggregations have become a major force in Massachusetts driving nearly 10% of the demand for new, New England-based renewable electricity (called MA Class I).

The term green refers to those aggregations that add renewable electricity to the default product above state standards.

Our Communities

Good Energy works with nearly 50 cities and towns in Massachusetts. Included in that is the largest buying group in the state, a collection of over 20 municipalities in southeastern Massachusetts. We’ll help you choose which approach is right for you: an aggregation as part of a group of communities where each municipality can pick the renewable electricity defaults and other options or an aggregation where your community has independent timing.

Disclaimer: Future savings cannot be guaranteed compared to the utility’s basic service rate which changes every three months for industrial customers and every six months for residential and small commercial customers.