Springfield enters into new electricity program, creating slight savings for residents

SPRINGFIELD – This winter, residents and small business owners will have a chance to pay slightly lower electricity rates through a system that lets the city go on the market to negotiate lower supply costs.

While the current deal will save residents an average of just $3 a month on their electricity bills, because of the volatility of the market, the savings could be far more if energy prices spike, officials said.

If prices from Eversource instead unexpectedly drop, residents can switch out of the city's Community Choice Power Supply Program within four days, only to rejoin months later when it is more favorable.

"Eversource is still the distribution company. The city is involved in the supply," said Mark Cappadona, president of Colonial Power Group, the consultant hired to negotiate rates for the city. "All they have done is give you a choice."

Last week, Cappadona explained the new program at the first of a series of community meetings . The next is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, at Rebecca Johnson School.

After hearing residents complain about soaring energy costs, a year ago Springfield decided it would join roughly 215 communities across the state to work with energy suppliers to buy electricity. The city's rates are now locked in at 13 cents per kilowatt hour for the next 35 months; Eversource sells energy now at a slightly higher 13.4 cents per kilowatt hour, he said.

"Municipal aggregation lets us use the city's buying power to secure a competitively priced, fixed electricity supply," Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said in a statement. "(It) gives residents stable and predictable pricing."

While the savings is slight now, one reason the city decided to enter into the program was to protect people from predatory third-party pricing that residents enter into at a low price and then see their rates skyrocket. Often those residents are locked into a long-term agreement and can only cancel it by paying fees and penalties, said Tina Quagliato Sullivan, deputy development officer for Housing, Community Development and Neighborhoods.

But with Community Choice Supply, residents can jump in and out of the program as often as monthly if they want to snag the best rates without penalty, Cappadona said.

All Eversource ratepayers will automatically be enrolled in the program but can opt out by filling out a postcard they receive and returning it, calling the company or by going online at colonialpowergroup.com/springfield. People can also call the city's 311 number for more information, Sullivan said.

Eversource will remain the city's distributor of power. People will still have to pay the same distribution fees and will receive the services they now have, he said.

If the power goes out, Eversource will still make the repairs. Low-income residents who are involved in an energy assistance program will not lose those benefits, he said.

People who generate their own energy through solar panels will still be able to do so through the Community Choice program, Cappadona said.

Residents mainly asked questions about the opt-in and opt-out process. One asked if power from wind, solar and other green energy sources are purchased in the aggregation.

Cappadona said the program does use those sources as well, since it is joining together supplies that have the lowest costs on the market.

Residents concerned about the environment can opt into a premium option to ensure all their power comes from renewable sources. That cost will be slightly higher at about 15 cents per kilowatt hour.

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