Municipal Aggregation

TOWN OF AUBURN EXECUTES CONTRACT FOR MUNICIPAL AGGREGATION

UPDATED NOV 6, 2023

IMPORTANT UPDATE FROM THE TOWN OF AUBURN

The Town of Auburn has signed a twenty-four-month contract with a new electricity supplier, Dynegy Energy Services. Beginning with the November 2023 meter reads, the Auburn Community Choice Power Supply Program will have a new rate of $0.14684 per kWh. 

For Auburn residents and businesses who are enrolled in the Town’s Program, the new rate of $0.14684 per kWh will take effect on November meter read dates. This represents a decrease of $55 per month on the supply side of the bill given average usage of 600 kWh. In addition, this new rate is 19 percent lower than National Grid’s recently announced Residential Basic Service rate of $0.18213 per kWh. Residents can expect to see an average savings of $21 per month for the months of November 2023 through July 2024.

LINK - Public Notice/Consumer Notification (PDF)

LINK - Press Release (PDF)

National Grid is responsible for meter reads, customer service, and billing customers for their monthly usage. The Town has no involvement in invoicing residents for their energy usage. For help reading you bill, please click here.Residents should contact National Grid customer service if they believe there has been a billing error.

Please be advised, National Grid's Basic Service rates change twice a year or more depending on rate class. As a result, the aggregation rate may not always be lower than the National Grid Basic Service rate. The goal of the aggregation is to deliver savings and stability over the life of the program against National Grid Basic Service. However, such savings and future savings cannot be guaranteed.

For a summary of NGrid residential basic service rates over the years (and to see the current rate) please click here (PDF).

OPT INTO MUNICIPAL AGGREGATION

Please remember that this is an optional program! Town residents and businesses who were enrolled in the Community Choice program under the last contract (November 2022-November 2023 with NextEra) will remain enrolled and do not need to take any action. Those residents and business will receive a postcard in the mail that contains details about the new fixed supply price and its contract duration.  This change will be noted on the November 2023 bills and will be seen on the December 2023 bills.

Customers who had previously opted-out of the program will not be automatically enrolled. Residents that wish to participate can opt-in to the program at any time! To opt-in/opt-out, please have your NGrid bill handy and visit https://colonialpowergroup.com/auburn/ OR call Dynegy at (866) 220-5696 and ask to join the Town of Auburn’s Program. PARTICIPATING CONSUMERS will start benefiting from the aggregation rate beginning on the day of the month in November 2023 that their meter is read. This date varies by service area. Your meter read date is shown on your bill. Enrollments can only be processed on meter reads so please be aware that it may take one or two billing cycles before taking effect.
You may OPT-OUT or OPT-IN at any time in the future with NO CHARGE.

Residents and businesses with any questions are encouraged to call Colonial Power at 508-485-5858, or the Town's Energy Manager at (508) 832-7700 x 1224.

CUSTOMERS UNDER CONTRACT WITH A different Third-Party SUPPLIER

Those customers who are under contract with another supplier will not be automatically enrolled in this municipal aggregation program. Those customers may opt into municipal aggregation at any time at no charge, although there may be penalties, fees or fines to cancel a contract with the supplier. Please talk with your contracted supplier before taking any action to avoid penalties, fees or fines.

ABOUT MUNICIPAL AGGREGATION

Residents in Auburn and communities across the State are faced with escalating electric costs which increase household expenses and put a burden on homeowners, families, low-income populations and seniors. Commercial customers are challenged by high electricity costs which are consistently highlighted as a barrier to economic growth in central Massachusetts. Residents and businesses in Auburn and other communities in the Commonwealth have felt the impact of skyrocketing electricity supply costs.

The Town of Auburn’s Municipal Aggregation Plan is designed to address this uncertainty in electricity costs by combining the purchasing power of its residential and commercial customers and by competitively bidding that load on the open market. By combining this purchasing power, the Community Choice Municipal Aggregation Plan enables customers to achieve stability in their electric rates and control their electric costs. Please note, savings cannot always be guaranteed. 

The Town wants to reiterate that we partner with only the following entities in regard to our Municipal Aggregation Program: 

  • Colonial Power Group; for rate solicitation, consulting, and program enrollment management.
  • Dynegy: The program's supplier November 2023 through November 2025.

PROCESS

The Town of Auburn has been working with its municipal energy consultant, Colonial Power Group, Inc. since April of 2015 when they were chosen by the Board of Selectmen after a competitive process. The Wind Turbine and Alternative Energy Committee had held interviews for 3 municipal aggregation consultant candidates over the course of 2014 before recommending Colonial Power Group to the Town Manager. The Town Manager concurred with the recommendation of the Committee and recommended Colonial Power to the Selectmen.