AMHERST – Amherst has signed a contract with MassPowerChoice, an aggregation services company founded by Peregrine Energy Group and Bay State Consultants, “to procure its services in developing and implementing an inter-municipal community choice aggregation (CCA) plan,” the town announced in a press release.

Town Manager Paul Bockelman said the program will focus the town’s purchasing and developing of green energy to help meet local and state carbon reduction goals. Bockelman signed as the lead community on behalf of Amherst, Northampton and Pelham, who have spent the last few years researching and determining the feasibility and potential benefits of the plan. According to Bockelman, Valley Green Energy will supply green electricity at a competitive rate.

“We are excited to be moving this effort forward”, Bockelman said. “Working in partnership with Northampton and Pelham, and we hope other communities in the future, we will focus our purchasing and developing power on green energy that will help in meeting local and state carbon reduction goals. Valley Green Energy will address climate change by offering green electricity at a competitive rate, with an emphasis on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting local renewable energy projects and/or programs.”

In addition to green aggregations which increase the amount of renewable electricity supplied to a community, MassPowerChoice specializes in delivering community-focused aggregations, which are highly tailored programs with a significant amount of in-person, hands-on engagement from their consultant. According to their website, they “provide a polished, patient and local customer support team that knows your program inside and out and lives and works in Massachusetts.”

Their support and staff team are available to the public for the entire length of engagement starting with the contract being signed and as long as the program is up and running. They offer access to the customer support team, regular check-ins with the electricity supplier to uncover any potential issues, regular reporting on program progress and more.

The website also lists municipal electricity aggregations as an alternative to volatile electricity pricing that can deliver competitive pricing, price stability with a predictable price over a fixed period of time and choice and transparency. Any electric customer on utility Basic Service within the municipalities will be automatically enrolled in the program with the option to opt out at any point with no penalty.

“We did sign a contract with a consultant to move that process forward, so that’s a pretty big hurdle that we got over,” Bockelman told Town Council at its last meeting.

When the program begins, the supplier services part of each participant’s electric bill will indicate that the electricity is being supplied by Valley Green Energy while the program rate will appear for electricity supply costs instead of the utility’s Basic Service rate. Participants will still receive a lone bill from the electric utility, call the electric utility when the electricity goes out, remain eligible for low-income delivery rates or fuel assistance and net metering credits will continue to appear on the bill.

Over the next few months, MassPowerChoice will work with all three communities to strategize community engagement while also developing the CCA application that will be submitted to the Department of Public Utilities which serves as the granting authority.