The Milford Energy Advisory Committee voted 3-0 on a recommendation to the Board of Selectmen to use ECM Power LLC, led by Emily Mann and working with Legacy Power, as the committee’s broker for a short-term renewal of the Milford Community Power supply contract.

Committee members said both bidders offered the same price per the committee’s materials, and the decision turned on responsiveness, local attention and the quality of follow-up rather than on cost. The committee left the contract length open and asked ECM Power to return a proposed timeline and options for renewal.

The recommendation comes as the current Milford Community Power supply agreement approaches expiration in October–November. Committee members said the two bids they examined carried the same fee (described in the meeting as “one-ten of 1¢ per kilowatt hour”); the committee focused instead on delivery, communication and the ability to coordinate timing with neighboring participating towns such as Jaffrey and New Boston.

Committee members described Emily Mann’s outreach and documentation as more prompt and more detailed than responses the group received from Standard Power of America’s current representatives. Members said Standard Power has undergone ownership changes and that some committee members could not locate a recent New Hampshire company registration for the version of Standard Power they remembered from earlier work; that point was raised as a factor but not treated as dispositive.

Members discussed that both ECM Power and Standard Power act as brokers: the financial and operational risk for actual energy delivery rests with the generator or supplier the broker secures. The committee heard market guidance that short-term contract lengths in the current market typically run eight to 13 months, though participants flagged 18-month windows to align with school or town renewal schedules if needed.

Troy Neff, the town finance director, urged the committee to weigh the increased attention a smaller or new broker often gives new customers against the stability of an incumbent. The committee agreed both bidders appeared capable, but favored ECM Power based on faster follow-up, a clearly outlined critical path for tasks, and the prospect of more hands-on service for Milford’s comparatively small load.

The committee’s formal action was a motion to recommend ECM Power LLC as broker; a second was recorded and the recommendation passed by voice vote, 3–0. Committee members asked that the Board of Selectmen be given the recommendation and that ECM Power return pricing and term options; the committee did not set a specific contract length at the meeting.

For context, Milford Community Power is the aggregation program that buys electricity for participating Milford accounts and is delivered over the town’s distribution system by the regulated utility (Eversource). Committee members said the aggregation serves roughly 5,000 Milford households (figure stated during discussion), and that pairing Milford’s load with other municipalities can increase buying power but adds coordination complexity.

Next steps are for the committee to forward the recommendation to the Board of Selectmen and for ECM Power to provide contract-term options and timelines. The committee left open the option to decline renewal or select a different supplier if a materially better offer appears before contract execution.