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Consultant outlines options and small "program fee" for Westborough Power Choice; board to consider amended plan and new supply contract in June
Summary
Peregrine Energy presented a 10-year overview of Westborough Power Choice, proposed amending the aggregation plan to authorize (but not immediately impose) a small per-kilowatt-hour program fee that could raise roughly $80,000 per year, and described a June timeline to finalize the plan and to run a procurement for a new electricity supply contract taking effect in November.
At the April 8 Select Board meeting, Paul Gromer of Peregrine Energy gave an update on Westborough Power Choice, the town's municipal electricity aggregation program, and outlined two next steps: amend the aggregation plan to meet current regulatory requirements and to authorize the town to collect a modest program fee if the board later chooses to include it in a supply contract; and initiate a new electricity supplier procurement to replace the current supply contract that expires this year.
Gromer said Westborough's aggregation program has been operating since 2016 and currently includes about 73% of electricity accounts in the town. He showed a price comparison indicating the program's standard option has been lower than National Grid's basic service price for much of the program's history, and described three supply choices (basic/low-cost, a standard option with roughly 20% more renewable content than required, and a 100% renewable option).
On the proposed fee, Gromer said the town would only be authorized to collect it and that the board would decide whether to include it when the town signs the next supply contract (late June). He gave a typical example of 0.1¢ per kilowatt-hour—about $0.70 per month for an average participant—producing roughly $80,000 annually if collected. Town staff and board members discussed potential uses for the revenue (program staffing, local clean-energy projects that benefit participants) and noted that any revenue would be program fees for participant benefit rather than taxes.
Board members asked for more detail about residential participation (residential accounts are a larger share of participation than the 73% total accounts figure suggests), outreach to nonparticipating accounts (to reduce accidental opt-outs and predatory offers), how fees would be governed by the town, and examples from other towns that have used fees for staffing or solar projects. Staff said the draft plan would undergo a 30-day public comment period, with a final plan expected in early June and indicative bids and a final procurement to follow, so that any new supply contract would take effect in November.
No vote was taken; the board was asked to consider the amended plan and the option to authorize collection of a program fee, with the decision to actually impose a fee to be made at the time of supplier contracting.
