Salem PowerChoice Program Increases Commitment to Local Renewable Electricity

June 2019 meter reads will show new supplier, Dynegy, for City’s electrical aggregation program
dynegy

Beginning with June 2019 electricity meter reads, as Salem PowerChoice’s current electricity supply contract ends, a new 30-month contract with Dynegy will go into effect. For most program participants, the program will include more renewable electricity from renewable energy projects in New England. New pricing will also go into effect at that time. Program participants will be automatically enrolled into the new contract with Dynegy and do not need to take any action.

“Salem was one of the first communities in the state to use electricity aggregation to increase the amount of renewable energy in the community’s electricity supply,” said Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll. “By adding more renewable electricity from local renewable energy projects in this new contract, Salem is increasing its support for local jobs and creating more demand for renewable energy on the New England power grid. The City’s municipal electricity supply is now also 100% from renewable energy sources, and I’m proud that Salem continues to maintain its position as a sustainability leader in Massachusetts.”

Specific program changes will be as follows:

  • PowerChoice Standard, the default program offering, will continue to provide 100% renewable energy as before, but now it will include 5% additional renewable electricity from renewable energy projects in New England, over and above the 14% minimum required by State law in 2019, as well as 81% wind energy from outside of New England. The price for PowerChoice Standard will change to 11.104 cents/kWh. Most program participants are enrolled in PowerChoice Standard.
  • PowerChoice Green, an option that is available upon request, will continue to provide 100% renewable electricity as before, but now 100% of that electricity will come from renewable energy projects in New England. The PowerChoice Green price will change to 12.508 cents/kWh.
  • PowerChoice Basic, another option that is available upon request, does not include any additional renewable energy above the 14% minimum that is required by state law and will continue to meet that minimum standard with the new contract. The PowerChoice Basic price will change to 10.958 cents/kWh.

The new program prices reflect changes in the electricity market since the previous contract was signed. The program price provides a fixed price for the 30 months of the contract, where National Grid’s Basic Service price changes every 6 months for residential and commercial customers and every 3 months for industrial customers, typically falling in the summer months and rising in the winter months. The program goal is to provide value when compared with the average of National Grid’s changing prices; however, future National Grid prices are not known, and savings cannot be guaranteed.

Participants will first see the new prices and the name Dynegy under the supply services portion of their July 2019 National Grid electricity bill, which covers electricity use in June. The prices are fixed until December 2021 meter reads. The new prices apply to all rate classes, including residential, commercial, and industrial accounts. Program prices only impact the supply services portion of participants’ National Grid electricity bills. Charges associated with delivery services are not affected.

Customers who are currently enrolled in Salem PowerChoice will be automatically enrolled under the new contract with Dynegy. Customers who have their own supplier agreement or chose to opt out of Salem’s previous contract will not be automatically enrolled in the new contract, but they may be added to an enrollment waiting list by contacting the City’s program team at 1-844-483-5004 or salem@masspowerchoice.com.

The Salem PowerChoice program is a group electricity purchasing program provided by the City of Salem as a service to the community. Through the program, the City chooses an electricity supplier for the community and determines the price for, and the amount of renewable energy in, the community’s electricity supply. The program provides a City-vetted alternative to National Grid’s Basic Service and to other electricity supply offers in the marketplace. New electricity accounts in Salem are automatically enrolled in the program. The City of Salem does not receive any financial compensation from the program. All program participants have the right to opt out at any time.

Since the program launched in January 2016, Salem PowerChoice participants have saved a total of $2.1 million on electricity costs and, because of the program’s commitment to renewable electricity, reduced the city’s carbon footprint by 86,500 tons of CO2, which is the equivalent of removing 16,600 passenger vehicles from the road for one year.

Additional information is available at www.salem.com/powerchoice. Customer support is available from the City’s program team at salem@masspowerchoice.com or by phone at 1-844-483-5004.