Jennifer Tabakin, Town Manager
Town Hall
334 Main St.
Great Barrington, MA 01230
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017
Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net
Great Barrington Green Energy Program Will Generate Savings for Residents and Businesses
Public Informational Session Set for Monday, Oct. 23 at 5:30 p.m. at Town Hall
GREAT BARRINGTON, MA – Great Barrington residents and business owners will collectively save nearly $300,000 over the next year, thanks to the newly created Great Barrington Community Choice Power Supply program.
The Great Barrington Community Choice Power Supply program is a municipal aggregation program which, according to Massachusetts law (M.G.L. c. 164, § 134), enables local government to combine the purchasing power of its residents and businesses so that it can provide them with an alternative electricity supply. The program provides price stability, local control, and competition while also lowering the burden of energy costs for Great Barrington’s residents and business community.
The Town of Great Barrington is pleased to announce it has entered into a one-year agreement with NextEra Energy Services of Houston, Texas. The town will be using 100 percent green energy derived from National Wind renewable energy certificates.
“We’ve seen how the spikes in the cost of electricity can be burdensome for Great Barrington residents,” said Town Manager Jennifer Tabakin. “By aggregating our electricity and seeking competitive bids to get the best price, we are pleased to be able to provide Great Barrington residents and small business owners the opportunity to have a more stable and lower cost energy option while also utilizing a renewable energy source which is beneficial for our environment.”
The Town and will hold an informational session on Monday, Oct. 23, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Town Hall to explain the Great Barrington Community Choice Power Supply program.
The new green-energy program will help residents and business owners achieve stability and substantial savings on electricity costs. Participating residents and businesses in Great Barrington will see an average savings of 8.48 percent in their monthly energy bills during the contract term compared to the basic service rate.
The program will provide a combined average savings of more than $24,000 per month for the town’s homes and businesses over the contract term. The cost savings for Great Barrington residents and businesses will begin with the November 2017 meter reads (December 2017 billings).
Colonial Power Group, Inc., a Massachusetts energy consulting company, was chosen by Great Barrington, in a competitive process, to design, implement, and administer the Community Choice Power Supply program on behalf of the Town. “We commend Great Barrington’s Selectboard and Town Manager Tabakin for their forward-thinking approach to energy purchasing,” said Mark Cappadona, President of Colonial Power Group, Inc. “By taking this action, not only are they helping to save residents and business owners money on their electricity costs, they are also helping the environment.”
This program only affects the supply portion of your monthly bill. It will not affect the delivery portion. National Grid will continue to deliver your electricity but Great Barrington, using a competitive bid process, has chosen NextEra Energy Services as the supplier for the Program.
No action is required by ratepayers to participate in this cost-saving program. The program will be operated on an opt-out basis, meaning that all Great Barrington residential and business customers currently on National Grid’s basic service will be automatically enrolled into the program unless they choose to opt out. You may opt-out of the Program at any time. The program has absolutely no penalty charges.
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