Cities, towns and one county that are members of the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire or are planning to join the coalition as of Oct. 31, 2023.
Cities, towns and one county that are members of the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire or are planning to join the coalition as of Oct. 31, 2023.
Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire, a collective of 50 towns, cities and counties in New Hampshire, has announced a 26% drop in the Community Power base electric rate to 8.1 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) starting in February.
The new rates will be in effect from February to July.
“The coalition continues to offer the lowest residential energy supply rates in New Hampshire, out-competing energy service from investor-owned utilities for three consecutive rate periods,” Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire (CPCNH) said in a release.
CPCNH provides default energy service for more than 120,000 customers in 28 cities and towns through the first half of 2024, with additional communities preparing to bring programs online.
“We are thrilled to once again offer cost-saving options and millions of dollars in savings to our customers,” Brian Callnan, CEO of CPCNH, said in a statement. “We continue to strive toward offering greater community control, customer choice and the best electric rate possible for our growing list of member communities.”
The coalition offers customers the choice of 100%, 50%, and 33% renewable power at rates comparable to the Unitil, Eversource and Liberty base rates. The towns of Hanover, Peterborough, and Plainfield are continuing to offer 33% renewable power as their default option.
Twelve more “Wave 2” communities are on track to become fully enrolled in March, making the coalition the second-largest electrical supplier in New Hampshire.
One of those “Wave 2” communities is Durham, a founding member of CPCNH.
“After three years of careful study and development by our Energy Committee, we’re very excited to be moving to launch Durham Community Power for the benefit of our residents and businesses,” Durham Town Administrator Todd Selig said in a statement. “In this cycle we will provide a savings over Eversource standard rates. In future cycles, we are hopeful to be able to also provide a higher percentage of green renewable energy mix as a default over Eversource, but that will be price dependent.”
The week of Jan. 22, customer enrollment letters will be sent out in “Wave 2” communities. A public information session for Durham residents has been scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 30 in the Town Council Chambers at Durham Town Hall.
Community power programs enable municipalities to purchase electricity on behalf of their residents rather than rely on the state-regulated utilities — such as Eversource, Unitil and Liberty — to provide power and set rates. Community power programs can offer lower rates because they have more flexibility in buying electricity than the regulated utilities.
CPCNH is a not-for-profit partnership that currently includes more than 50 cities and towns and one county. Of these, 16 municipalities already launched their community power programs and are providing lower electricity rates to residents and businesses. They include Nashua, Lebanon, Peterborough, Hanover, Portsmouth, Exeter and Rye.
The 16 communities serve about 80,000 customers, with that number expected to grow considerably in 2024 when “Wave 2” municipalities come online.
The coalition model eliminates the broker, who serves as the middleman between the municipality and the private energy supplier, and buys power directly from the wholesale market.
