Many of you have asked for more information about the new program being rolled out by the city. Our Councilwoman, Rachel Miller, put out the following information in her most recent e-newsletter.
From Councilwoman Miller: “Here's a good starting point for some questions you might have - I'm sharing from Ward 3 Councilor Sue AnderBois (and former Chair of the Providence Sustainability Commission) and from Kevin Proft - Providence's Acting Director of the Sustainability (thank you both!).”
1. What is Community Choice Aggregation?
Community Choice Aggregation allows cities and towns to purchase electricity supply competitively on behalf of their residents.
2. What is Providence Community Electricity?
Providence Community Electricity (PCE) is the City’s new electricity supply program. By aggregating customer accounts from Providence and six other Rhode Island cities and towns, the program has enough buying power to buy electricity from generators at rates that are competitive with or (ideally) lower than RI Energy’s supply service, while also sourcing more energy from regional renewable energy projects. At launch, the standard rate is about 9% cheaper than the utility’s rate and includes 5% more renewable energy.
The goal of Providence Community Electricity is to use our aggregated buying power to
purchase electricity more cheaply and from more local renewable sources.
3. Can you opt out? & How?
PCE is an automatic enrollment program. This type of program is enabled by State law and was approved by the Providence City Council in July 2020. The reason we use an automatic enrollment program is that it provides the program with the buying power needed to negotiate favorable rates for the community.
You may opt out of the program at any time, without penalty. If you opt out before April 11, 2023 you will never be enrolled in the program. If you opt out after that date, you will be reverted to RI Energy in the following billing cycle.
You may opt out of the program in three ways: (1) complete the opt-out form included with the notification letter recently sent to impacted customers and mail it back via the pre-paid and pre-addressed envelop, (2) Call Providence's supplier, NextEra Energy Services Rhode Island, LLC at (888) 387-1084. This is a call center specific to RI’s program, not NextEra’s main call center. (3) Submit the opt-out form here.
4. Should I opt out?
Right now - if you use RI Energy's Budget Billing, you may want to opt out until the issue that Kevin outlined here is resolved. Until it is resolved, your budget billing plan will only cover a portion of your bill.
At launch, Budget Billing – which allows customers to spread their utility costs evenly over billing periods to avoid price swings in winter and summer – will only be available for delivery costs. There are two parts to your utility bill – supply and delivery. The City is moving customers to a new supplier, but delivery will remain the responsibility of RI Energy. While PCE customers will continue to receive just one bill from RI Energy, there is a disagreement between the City, its consultant, and the PUC and RI Energy about whether RI Energy needs to continue to extend the budget billing option to supply costs. In our opinion it does. We are working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible, but it will, unfortunately not be resolved before launch.
5. Are there any downsides?
A potential downside is that the City cannot guarantee that PCE’s rate will always be lower than RI Energy’s. The initial rate is locked in for six months. Like all electricity suppliers, including RI Energy, Providence's supplier must periodically enter into new supply contracts. The new contracts result in adjusted rates that reflect current market conditions. The City is confident that our supplier will regularly deliver comparable or cheaper rates compared to RI Energy, while also sourcing more electricity from renewable projects. Remember, it is in our suppliers interest to do so, as customers will begin to opt-out if they do not deliver on these goals, and customers can opt-out at any time.
6. Will this program always be cheaper?
The goal of Providence Community Electricity is to provide a stable and cost competitive supply rate compared to RI Energy’s rate. While Providence Community Electricity is less expensive than the utility-offered service at launch, savings compared to the utility rate cannot be guaranteed in every contract period going forward. That said, Good Energy – the City’s consulting partner for this program – has secured savings for its approximately 50 active clients in Massachusetts over the course of each of those programs. Remember, if you are dissatisfied with Providence Community Electricity’s performance, you may always opt out at any time, without penalty.
7. Will this program really source more energy from renewables?
NextEra was directed by participating municipalities to procure electricity with a greater amount of local renewable energy than is required by State law. Doing so increases demand for renewable energy credits (RECs) - specifically RI New RECs. In New England, increased demand for RECs has translated into greater development of new renewable energy generation.
Get your questions answered…
See the city’s Community Electricity website here.
Monday, March 27, 2023 at 6 pm. Mayor Smiley's administration is hosting a Q & A. Virtual only Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84119813584 Zoom Meeting ID: 841 1981 3584 Phone: +1 309 205 3325 US, or 833 548 0276 US Toll-free