BCAN

The City of Boston has begun the early stages of setting up community choice energy!  As this critical process gets started, there’s never been a better time to understand what this means for you and other Boston residents.

1. What’s in a name?

Community Choice Energy is a tool that’s been used in hundreds of communities across the country and goes by many names: municipal aggregation, municipal electricity aggregation, community choice aggregation, and a few others. The idea is the same: CCE enables the City of Boston to bulk-purchase electricity for City residents.  Buying in bulk comes with a lot of buying power, which allows us to stabilize rates and get more renewables without paying more.  It also means that we can make important energy decisions instead of for-profit utilities and their competitors.

2. Choice is the key word.

Think of CCE like a ‘public option’.  CCE will be the new default, but you can switch to Eversource or a competitive supplier at any time with no penalties. As always, stay informed about competitive suppliers marketing.

3. CCE is for everyone.
CCE allows everyone to be part of the solution to the global climate crisis. While only some people can afford to install solar panels on their roofs, CCE means everyone is able to increase their clean energy.  It makes it a little bit easier to think globally and act locally.

4. CCE is climate-smart.

In 2018, Massachusetts utilities are required to buy at least 12% of their energy from Class I renewables. While this minimum percentage inches up a little each year, climate change impacts are already here and our current goals for renewables are much too slow. With CCE, we can decrease our reliance on fossil fuels and work towards our climate goals

5. CCE means more green, less stress

Monthly energy bills can be a source of financial stress for many Boston families. When it comes to negotiating electricity prices, no one can perfectly predict what the City will be able to get. That said, researchers at Tufts University looked at eight nearby towns that implemented similar CCE programs with 5% additional local renewable energy. In the first half of 2018, these towns averaged 16% lower supply costs than Eversource basic.

 

Here’s more on how it works!