Swanzey reviews Community Power contract renewal, green default and proposed customer fee

Emily Nance, a representative of Swanzey Community Power, updated the town board on the program’s performance and options for renewing the town’s supply contract.

The update covered participation, recent and projected pricing, a proposed green default that would raise the program’s minimum renewable content from the state level (25.2%) to 35.2% for the town’s default product, and a possible small per-kilowatt-hour fee to create a local fund for weatherization and bill-assistance programs.

Nance said Swanzey Community Power serves about 7,600 customer accounts and delivers roughly 18,500,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, of which about 6,500,000 kilowatt-hours are from renewable sources under the program’s current mix. She said roughly 91% of customers are on the program’s default product. The town’s current contract runs through December; organizers are preparing now to solicit renewal pricing in spring because market prices often improve in that season.

“We have a few housekeeping details to do before we go back in the pricing,” Nance said. She told the…