Southeastern Massachusetts Residents and Businesses Reduce Winter Energy Costs With New Regional Bulk Electricity Buying Program

NEW BEDFORD, MA--(Marketwired - Nov 10, 2015) - Community leaders from across southeastern Massachusetts today announced the launch of a regional Community Electricity Aggregation program. Organized by municipal leaders, the program allows participating residents and businesses to significantly reduce electricity rates through a bulk-purchasing contract.

"Spiking utility costs over the last two winters have placed a real burden on household budgets," said New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell. "New Bedford and the other participating communities have worked closely with SRPEDD and consultant Good Energy, to secure a fixed-term contract that will help to protect area residents and businesses from future spikes in electricity prices."

Under the new contract, beginning in January 2016, the rate per kWh for electricity supply will be fixed for 24 months at $0.0949/kWh. Based on this new rate and historical utility usage data, the group is expecting to see an estimated $15 million in aggregate savings in the region when compared to the current Eversource and National Grid published winter utility rates.

Eligible accounts will be automatically enrolled unless they choose to opt-out during a 30-day opt-out period. There will be no early termination fees at any time for those who wish to leave this new program, as compared to many other competitive supply offers that do include early termination fees.

Working with the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD), 23 communities in the region succeeded in using their combined purchasing power to establish new power rates that will bring savings to area residents and businesses in participating communities this winter. Communities participating in the SRPEDD program include Acushnet, Attleboro, Carver, Dartmouth, Dedham, Dighton, Douglas, Dracut, Fairhaven, Fall River, Freetown, Marion, Mattapoisett, New Bedford, Northbridge, Norton, Plainville, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Somerset, Swansea, Westford, and Westport for a combined 225,000 eligible households and businesses. 

Ross Perry, Director of Municipal Management at SRPEDD said, "We started looking into this last year and managed to get through the regulatory approvals process in record time. We had a lot of support and guidance from State elected officials, the Department of Energy Resources and the Department of Public Utilities and we're very excited to get the program underway in time for January winter rates."

To learn more about the program, contact (844) MASSCEA (627-7232) info@masscea.com or visit MASSCEA.com.