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Sustainable Westchester presents Westchester Power options; town schedules special meeting on community choice aggregation
Summary
Noam Branson, president of Sustainable Westchester, briefed the Town Board on Westchester Power CCA options (50% 'light green' and a price‑dependent 100% 'dark green'), the program's environmental impacts and consumer protections; the board set a special meeting for June 12 to continue the discussion and consider preliminary action.
Noam Branson, president of Sustainable Westchester, told the Town Board that Westchester Power bundles municipal electricity demand to negotiate renewable supply and offered two default product choices for Mamaroneck: a 50% renewable 'light green' option and a price‑dependent 100% 'dark green' option. Branson described the CCA as a municipal shared service and said participation expands consumer choice and can cap electricity costs while increasing renewable supply.
Branson cited program metrics for 2023, saying the program “helped to mitigate more than 368,000 metric tons of carbon,” and noted an estimated benefit in avoided social costs: “Based on DEC calculations, this program is averting nearly $48,000,000 in costs, every single year.” He acknowledged the 2022 contract’s higher fixed rate (set amid global market shocks) but said 2024 pricing indicators suggest the town could obtain a lower fixed contract if it moves quickly.
Branson explained why the program is structured as an opt‑out default, noting regulatory constraints and scale required to bargain in the market: “We can only bargain for electricity supply if we’re able to come to the market with a certain level of presumed demand,” and that the state does not permit an opt‑in CCA. He described consumer protections and ease of opt‑out by mail, online, email or phone.
Board members and staff discussed product design and timing. Branson outlined a timetable that anticipates preliminary action this month, tier‑1 pricing in July, a purchase in August and a contract commencing Nov. 1, accompanied by public notifications. The board scheduled a special meeting on June 12 at 6:00 p.m. in Conference Room A to continue deliberations on whether to reenter Westchester Power and, if so, which default product to set for residents.
What happens next: the special meeting will allow the board to ask detailed contractual and pricing questions, weigh the light‑green versus dark‑green defaults, and decide whether to take preliminary action this month. If the board opts for the dark‑green product, staff warned that the final offering will be price dependent and may be adjusted or shelved if tier‑1 costs diverge substantially from indicators.
