Consultant outlines community choice aggregation, opt‑out details for North Smithfield residents

Freedom Energy Logistics CEO Bart Crometh told the North Smithfield Town Council on July 21 that a community choice aggregation (CCA) program could let the town collectively buy electricity supply for residents currently on Rhode Island Energy’s last‑resort service, potentially lowering winter bills and smoothing price swings.

Crometh said the program is run under state law and functions as an aggregated buying group that bids with third‑party suppliers on behalf of customers on default service. “One of the things this program helps to rectify is that…we see some pretty massive fluctuations,” he said, citing winter rate increases that can reach around 50 percent. He added that the program is typically able to solicit competitive bids and that towns have the option of locking in one‑ to multi‑year supply terms.

Council members pressed Crometh on how the program would affect bills and customer service. Crometh said customers would still receive bills from the utility and would call the utility for connection or outage issues; the supplier charge would appear on the bill as a North Smithfield aggregation charge. He described the program as “opt‑out”: after the town selects a supplier and receives Public Utilities Commission approval, residents on last‑resort service receive notices and have 30 days to opt out; those who do not opt out are enrolled but can leave the program at any time with no early‑termination fee.

Crometh estimated typical aggregate savings around 10 percent versus the utility’s published rate to compare, while noting that savings vary with market conditions and can be larger in extreme market events. He said suppliers typically underwrite the risk that some enrolled customers later opt out, and that procurement timing (for example, locking rates when market conditions are favorable) is a tool CCA administrators can use to reduce volatility.

Crometh described Freedom Energy Logistics as a municipal adviser with municipal clients in New England and said his company would provide turnkey education and customer service materials, a North Smithfield‑specific website, and regulatory support to the town through the PUC process. He said Freedom is paid by a small fee built into the supply rate rather than by direct town payments.

Council members discussed resident concerns about automatic enrollment. One councilor said she preferred opt‑in and said she “couldn’t support” an opt‑out approach for that reason. Crometh said opt‑in programs have historically been far more expensive on a per‑customer basis and that the opt‑out model returns acquisition cost savings to ratepayers.

Council members asked for additional information and said they want to educate residents before taking further steps. Crometh offered to return to answer more questions and work with the town on public hearing logistics should North Smithfield decide to pursue a CCA plan.

The presentation did not include a council vote or formal action on forming an aggregation plan; council members said they would request more information and the item will remain under consideration.